Complete Turnabout
by Nenilein
Summary: Waking up in an unfamiliar room one morning, Phoenix Wright suddenly finds a Prosecutor's Badge in his possession. With most of his allies suddenly acting hostile towards him, will he figure out what truly caused the world he knew to suddenly change?
1. Unfortunate Implications

_This whole fanfic is based around the famous question "What if event X had played out differently?". In this case, I am taking a look at an "option" which the games themselves have already hinted at jokingly. _

_Expect characters from all Ace Attorney games to show up. Yes, all five of them. _

_Enjoy._

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I woke up this morning and found something. Something that shouldn't have been there.

It was a morning which would just progress to get weirder and weirder as it went on. I was asleep and woke up immediately forgetting everything I might or might not have dreamt that night, which is quite normal for me. Maya once told me that writing down your dreams right after waking up helps getting better at remembering them, but, to be honest, I'm not keen on being able to remember every single one of my nightmares in detail. I opened my eyes and turned my head to the side just to take a look at the clock, which is also normal for me. It was 8:07, meaning I woke up around 8:00, which, too, is normal for me. However, this is where things got weird.

As my eyes left the clock, I was already trying to remember if I had anything planned for this day, or if I would just spend it in the office watching TV and eating soup and burgers with Maya, boring myself to death. Which is, actually, still normal, of course. However, my eyes wandered across the nightstand… And there it was.

A Prosecutor's badge.

A neatly polished, shiny and highly attention-seeking Prosecutor's badge. Just like the one Edgeworth had. Come to think about it, I never actually saw him wearing it, or any Prosecutor wearing a badge for that matter. I can understand why though. Seen from this close, that thing is ugly…

The first thought this sight triggered was, naturally, the following:

_(…What is a Prosecutor's badge doing on my nightstand?) _

Sitting up in the bed, the first thing I did was not to stretch myself and yawn like usual, but to reach out my hand for the badge, which my eyes were still fixed on, and pick it up. I hesitated a little though as the question whose badge this might be crossed my mind. But it didn't take me long to decide that, one way or another, I had to pick it up anyway if I wanted to find out. The first thing I noticed was how it was noticeably heavier than the Attorney's badge. But I think I could have guessed that, it looked heavier in the first place since it was a little bigger and had that cross-like metal piece all over it and that red jewel thing and all. I examined the design closer. It was a lot more… "sharp and edgy" than my badge.

_(Edgy…)_

I guess a smile crossed my face here.

_(How fitting.)_

Still, I could scratch the idea that it might be his badge right away. Edgeworth never lost anything, he was too neat and he was a perfectionist. And if he did, he'd probably wear a paper bag over his face for three days afterwards out of shame.

I could exclude Franziska von Karma as well. She never visited my office…

…And this was when I noticed the second weird thing, which shouldn't have been possible. In fact, it was even a lot more noticeable than the prosecutor's badge and I seriously wondered how I managed to miss this. I was surprised… well actually, more like "shocked", when I finally noticed it. I fell back onto the bed when I noticed it.

This wasn't my bedroom.

Yes, in case you're wondering, I'm pretty sure I broke into a cold sweat at that point. Waking up in a unfamiliar bedroom, with no idea how I got here? I don't like what this implies. I don't think anybody would like what this implies.

Trying to search my mind for the memory of what happened the evening before, and failing, I jumped out of not-my-bed and started coming up with ideas of how to get out of there, without getting noticed by whoever lived here. I came up with a rather time-consuming tiptoes-stop-listen-tiptoes-again method when I noticed another problem:

I was wearing my pajamas. Well, at least if I could trust that giant mirror before my eyes. A rather unnecessarily pretentious-looking mirror, in my opinion. It was like the owner only bought it so he could spend money on _something_. I took a look around the floor. My clothes were nowhere in sight. I found nothing but a neat, expensive looking carpet and started to wonder if somebody had actually kidnapped me from the office while I was sleeping. At least that appeared to be the only logical explanation. The only _other _explanation that kept coming to my mind was killed by the fact that I was rather sure that I knew myself well enough to be able to determine that I would have definitely _not_ done _that_. Still…

_(OK, let's piece everything together.) _I thought. (_I'm in the bedroom of a house I think I have never seen before, dressed in pajamas and there's a Prosecutor's badge on the nightstand. I have no idea how I got here or what I did last night. Either some rather radical Prosecutor is trying to dispose of me, or I- *gulp* … let's leave it at that.)_

It was then that I took another look through the admittedly rather large, well furnished room with the large, white bed which, much to my relief, seemed to be intended for just one person despite its size, the lone pillow and the single blanket I had been lying under just a few seconds ago confirmed this as well, and the equally white nightstand. Also, there was, of course, this Prosecutor's Badge, which was still resting in my palm.

_(No wait… that makes no sense…_ ) I tapped my chin with my finger nervously. (_A kidnapper wouldn't lock me in the 'Suite Royal', would he? Also, why would he leave this badge with me? Could he have just forgotten it…? But why put it on the nightstand in the first place? And most importantly… do I have any enemies who would actually do this to me?)_

I pondered about this question for less than three seconds before I came to the conclusion "not anymore". Every Prosecutor who had ever hated me held me in at least some kind of regards now… At least I thought they did. I just couldn't come up with a valid reason why I was here, no matter how hard I thought about it. Why would anybody kidnap me? This was just ridiculous.

If Maya had been here, she would have probably come up with a few wild conspiracy theories by now. If Mia had been here, she'd have probably told me to stay calm and take a careful look around.

_(…in fact, that's probably what I should do now, I guess…)_

Slowly, I approached the door, trying not to make a sound. It was easy since the carpet deadened my steps. It was almost like the designer had been trying to go for the most burglar-friendly design they could come up with. I placed my hand on the doorknob and turned it around. Much to my surprise, the door came open. It wasn't even locked. My kidnapping theory was becoming more unlikely every second… And if it still happened to be true, this was probably the most incompetent kidnapper in the history of kidnapping. However, there was still the old saying, "never praise the day before nightfall", so I decided to act as carefully as possible regardless.

My first steps out the bedroom were rather slow and hesitant, but as I progressed through what appeared to be an apartment in a house with several levels to it, that's what a glance out of the window told me, it became more and more apparent that there was, in fact, nobody here except me. The other rooms I found, among them a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a bathroom, were all devoid of any other person who could have eventually spotted me. It was a very expensive-looking apartment. The rooms were all spacious and equipped with the kind of furniture I only knew from catalogues or visits at other richer lawyer's offices.

_(Uhh… It's places like this that make me wish my clients were a little… richer. Or at least spendable.) _

I continued looking around. It took me a long time to find the entrance door, which I can probably account to the size of the apartment and the slightly illogical way everything was set up… To say it bluntly. Even with all the expensive furniture, the place was far from being tidy in any sense of the word, but I knew that I should probably shut up in this respect; Maya reminded me often enough that my office wouldn't exactly win a prize for the neatest place in town.

_(…My office.) _

I had to get back there, quickly. Placing my hand on the doorknob, I soon realized that the door had no keyhole… and noticed that it was one of those locks, which only lock the door one way. Ergo: anybody can get out, but only the owner of the keycard gets in. I made a face in disbelief.

_(No… They can't be serious. So I can just waltz out like that? Why even bring me here in the first place?..._

…_Ok, let's think. This is obviously not a kidnapping. No kidnapper in the world could possibly be that stupid. Which means that I probably entered this place of my own free will. Too bad I don't remember doing that… Well, hello again, bad implications.)_

I sighed and wiped away the sweat from my face, wondering what reason I could have possibly had to come here. I remembered that I still had the mysterious Prosecutor's badge in my hand and looked at it again.

_(Hm… this badge. I wonder who it belongs to. …Maybe I came here yesterday evening to meet a Prosecutor? But why can't I remember coming here then? Did they drug me? …No way. Or… way? I don't know. Those guys… they can really be unpredictable at times. No, wait… Neither Edgeworth, nor Franziska von Karma would have any reason to lure me here and then drug me into sleep without even locking the door. …And, to be honest, I can't imagine them doing this. Also, they both wouldn't have left their badge behind, right in my reach, not even by accident. Hmm…)_

My only way to find out whose badge this was to go out and ask Detective Gumshoe if there were any prosecutors who were recently missing their badge. Then again, if I did do that, they would have probably suspected that I, in fact, stole the badge and that was exactly the kind of trouble I did not want to get into if it was not absolutely necessary. Additionally, leaving the place would have probably not been too good of an idea at the moment anyway, considering I was still in pajamas…

_(I need clothes first…) _I decided after taking a look down myself. (_Otherwise I won't be able to move two steps around in public without ruining my own reputation in record time. I'm already seeing the newspaper headlines… And I don't like them.)_

Yeah, had I even seriously considered walking around in the streets like that, it would have probably been perfect journalist bait. Not to mention incredibly embarrassing. There was no way I could do that, no matter how badly I wanted to return to my office. I walked up and down the apartment for a little while, before I finally remembered that there was a wardrobe in the bedroom.

_(Yeah… The wardrobe. If I hurry over to my place, switch the clothes and return what I took quickly, nobody will suspect a thing… No, wait. What if whoever is living here doesn't share my size?_

_...What if whoever is living here is a __**woman**__?)_

That moment, a very disturbing mental image crossed my mind:

Me in Franziska von Karma's clothes. I almost choked on the very air I was breathing.

_(Yikes! Somebody, pass the Brain Bleach, please!)_

I don't even know, why I thought of her, but it might have been because of that Prosecutor's badge. Apparently my mind had already set itself on the idea that this apartment must belong to a Prosecutor, which was the most logical conclusion given that I found this badge here.

Still, I had no choice. I had three options: the wardrobe… waiting for the apartment owner to return and find me awake… or wearing my pajamas in the streets. I finally got myself to return to the bedroom and approach the huge wardrobe. I took a deep breath.

_(Take the clothes, return to the office, change, return, put the clothes back...) _I kept telling myself _(Simple. No need to worry.)_

I pulled open the doors of the wooden wardrobe, dreading what kind of embarrassing outfit I would be forced to wear now.

_(…What the-?)_

I was quite surprised to realize something: The apartment owner apparently had the same taste in clothing as me.

The same blue suit, the same red tie, the same black shoes.

Not just one of each. En masse. I didn't even know that this many of them existed. As the question who was living here finally became so urgent that it actually felt like it was piercing my mind, I started to change into one set of clothes, feeling familiar right away.

_(…No way… My exact size too…)_

There was no doubt in my mind: this was the same clothes… The same stuff I always wear. Well, except I had no Attorney's badge to pin onto the suit. I just wanted to close the door, but I noticed something near the back of the closet on the floor.

_(…Wait a minute… My suitcase!)_

I quickly picked it up from inside the wardrobe and opened it, taking a look inside. My suspicions were confirmed: I found some of my belongings inside there, which ensured me that this was, in fact, my suitcase. Among my belongings in it an eighteen-year-old photo of me, Edgeworth and Larry Butz. However, I soon noticed that several other things were missing all of a sudden. The photo of my victory in the Hazakura Temple Case for example, or the photo of Maya and Pearl eating noodles with me at Eldoon's stand…

_(Why would anyone take those away? That makes no sense… Hm?)_

Between my fingers, I suddenly held a photo of me during my time at university. Iris and me, to be precise.

_(Iris…)_

Of course, Iris, Dahlia Hawthorne's' twin sister, dated me in order to sustain the illusion that Dahlia and me were a couple, but eventually fell in love with me herself. How could I ever forget her…?

The problem was that I couldn't even remember taking this particular photograph with her during my time at university, and I especially couldn't remember keeping it in my suitcase like that. What really confused me was the location it showed: Kurain Village.

I was never in Kurain before I met Maya. I didn't even know about it. So how could a photo of me visiting it as a nineteen- or twenty-year-old young man possibly exist? I was used to dealing with contradictions, but this one just made my head hurt. I decided to put away the mysterious photograph for a moment and to check on my other belongings in the suitcase.

I found several photographs of my elementary school time, most of which I was sure I never put in there, a cell phone which, for some reason, responded to my pin-code, but was a much newer model than my own, a model I wouldn't be able to afford in a hundred years, and my Magatama. I picked it up and sighed.

_(Well, at least I didn't lose the Magatama. Maya sure wouldn't take it lightly if I did.)_

What I couldn't find was my Attorney's badge. I frowned. So I apparently had been drugged in an unlocked room in an unlocked apartment by a Prosecutor's-badge-owning thief, who specialized in blue suits and red ties, and who just happened to share my size and taste? I had worked on weird cases before, but this was just too stupid to be true. It probably wasn't anyway, but I just couldn't come up with a better explanation.

I found my wallet buried under my belongings and not-my-belongings at the very bottom of the suitcase and was surprised by how unusually heavy it was. So I opened it and found… money. Lots of it. So much that the wallet looked like it was about to burst. I gasped.

I had never seen that much money in one place before. Especially not in my wallet.

_(OK, I give up… why would anybody drug me and then fill my wallet with money? It makes. No. Sense! )_

I held one of the one hundred dollar bills from the wallet against the light in order to test it. It appeared to be the real thing, watermark and all…

I sweated. I had to find out what happened that night… At any cost. I took a look at my watch.

(_9:15… Rather late. Maya will wonder where I am and be worried… First stop: my Office. Everything else comes later.)_

I picked up the suitcase and left the apartment quickly, taking the mysterious Prosecutor's badge and the extra items in my suitcase with me. Of course, the thought that taking them from the apartment would probably count as 'theft' struck me, but they were my only evidence about whose apartment this might be. There was no name written on the door, after all. Also… I just had a feeling that I would need it with me in order to find out how I got into the apartment in the first place.

I ran along the corridor, planning to go down taking the steps, but I scrapped this plan when I saw a sign saying '20th floor' right next to the elevator. I took a sharp turn and tried to run back and call said elevator instead, but then I suddenly felt something bumping into me.

"Uhf!"

Opening my eyes and looking at the floor before me, I found the 'something' to be a blonde girl with a lollypop in her mouth, which she now quickly removed with a fast move of her hand. She threw me an angry glance as soon as she opened her eyes.

"Eh… Sorry, I didn't mean to push you over." I quickly said. "Do you need a hand?"

The girl didn't answer, but stared at me with the same expression for about three more seconds before she stood up, sighed, went past me without even paying me a single glance and disappeared through a nearby door.

_(Sheesh…What kind of manners are those? I told her I was sorry, didn't I?... Argh! I have no time for that now!)_

I hurried into the elevator, went down all the way, and left the building. I caught the first taxi I could get.

On the way, I tried to call Maya, but for some reason the voice on the phone kept telling me that her number didn't exist. I guessed that I was probably misremembering it. And since that other phone, despite using my pin-code, did not have her number stored, I had no choice but to let her wait for me to arrive at the office.

The time just sitting on the taxi's back seat and watching the scenery pass by was killing me… I knew that something was very wrong, the feeling just wouldn't leave me alone.

I had no idea how correct this feeling really was…

The world had suddenly decided to take a joyride on the road of irony, and had decided not to take me with it.


	2. Impossible and True

_Alright, I found myself a Betareader. (Thanks to that person in advance. ;-) This will be the last chapter which hasn't already been beta-ed before it's realize, all of the following chapters will be sent to the beta prior to uploading. Of, course, I'll let the beta take care of all mistakes in the previous chapter and this one as well. It's just that I hate letting stories sit with just one chapter for a longer period of time. Don't ask me why, I just hate it._

_I am currently planning out all the crimes which will happen in the fanfic, and since I want to stick close to the source material in regards of complexity, this is one of the most complicated planning phases I've ever had in a fanfic before. I hope I can do this without generating any random plotholes…_

_Again, enjoy. Chapter 2 is here._

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**May 1st, 9:55am**

**Wright&Co Law Offices**

I learned one thing from the taxi trip to the office that day: taxi drivers give you a weird look when you try to pay a comparable small fee with a one hundred dollar bill. It's just that I didn't really think before handing it to him. Come to think, I didn't even take any of the money back… That taxi driver probably got the tip of his life. But I didn't care and just rushed inside the building and boarded the elevator. I had to talk to somebody about what could have happened last night and Maya was my first choice. Not only would she listen to me, she also wouldn't insist on a certain option regarding how I could have gotten there, like other people surely would. Not to mention that she was my assistant anyway.

The elevator door opened. I ran outside and towards my office door, picking up my keys, just to notice that none of them fit. Of course not… The office key was missing all of a sudden. Instead of it, a rectangular, white plastic card was hanging on my keychain. The theft choices and 'replacements' of my hypothetical 'kidnapper' here were starting to make me dizzier and dizzier… Finally, I just rang the bell hoping that Maya would come to answer the door. The sound of steps approaching made me sigh in relief and I was prepared for the door to open and to see Maya standing before me and asking me what had taken me so long to get to the Office.

However, something- or rather, someone- entirely different was awaiting me.

I first noticed the slow way the door opened… A thought crossed my mind.

_(Maya doesn't open doors like that.)_

Whenever Maya opened a door, she did it in a way that would have made a preschooler on a sugar rush look calm. Which was the reason why I was usually the one opening all the doors in our investigations. In fact, I specifically asked her not to open any doors at one point.

…This wasn't Maya. That's what my mind decided that moment, even though I knew that this made no sense. Maya was the only one except me who had the office key. She couldn't have brought a visitor that early in the morning… could she?

The truth was revealed, when the door finally opened completely and revealed the one who opened it from behind.

So… yeah…

My jaw must have dropped at that moment.

The jaw of the man before me dropped as well, if I remember correctly.

So, in conclusion, we were staring at each other with dropped jaws for several seconds there. I would have never thought that this would ever happen to the two of us. Especially not in this situation. I rubbed my eyes just to check if I was seeing things. Apparently, I was not.

Miles Edgeworth was standing there in the door to my Office wearing a red suit and a bowtie and holding a doughnut in his left hand. Yes, the doughnut struck me almost as much as a shock as the fact that he was there in the first place. I swear, I never saw him eating any of those before.

"P-Phoenix?"

This was the first thing he said once he recovered his voice, which he did faster than me. Which was the third thing that struck me.

_('Phoenix'? Why so informal today, Edgeworth?)_

A bowtie-wearing Edgeworth eating a doughnut in my office and calling me Phoenix. If there was a time to realize that something was dead wrong here, it was now. I guess this was the moment I started suspecting that I was, in fact, still asleep. This was just _too _similar in feel to the kind of nightmare I tended to have usually. Well, not that I had ever dreamt of a bowtie-wearing-Edgeworth eating doughnuts in my office before, but hey, it was a whole lot more plausible than this kind of thing actually happening, right?

Then there was the tone in his voice when he saw me. I swear his voice was a whole octave higher than usual.

"What…?"

For a moment it looked like he was desperately trying to put the doughnut in his hand away, only to find no table in reach, so he gave it up. Next, he took a breath, apparently attempting to calm down. Immediately, an expression more typical for the Miles Edgeworth I knew appeared on his face and also his voice became as calm and, most importantly, deep as I was used to it again.

"…What do you want here?"

"What… do… _**I**_ want here?" I wasn't quite sure what to make of that question and broke into a cold sweat again. "I should be the one asking that question, shouldn't I…?"

Edgeworth then gave me a skeptic look, which just screamed 'You-can't-be-serious-can-you?' at me, before he rather calmly returned: "I am working."

"But… this is…"

"And now, it's your turn to answer my question." He cut me short. "So? What are _you_doing here?"

He then crossed his arms and did his thing… you know, where he moves his pointing finger up and down, just to show that he's waiting.

And wait he did, since I was quite speechless. A normal reaction considering he was apparently just asking me for the reason I wanted to go into _my _office. Still I had to say something. I mean, this was Edgeworth, and behind him was my office. So… I had to think of something.

_(…Something that doesn't sound as awkward as those last two sentences, if possible… Uhm, yeah. That should do it, I guess…)_

"You… want to talk, Edgeworth?

_(…And why does that sound even more awkward than the other stuff, now that I said it?)_

Edgeworth frowned in a weird way, which reminded me a lot on how a father frowns at his nasty child. I felt like I was a kid again. In a bad way. As soon as the frown had disappeared from his face again, he started talking to me:

"Listen… Wright…"

_(So, now I'm 'Wright' again, all of a sudden?)_

"If you want to talk about the recent trial with me, I'm all too ready to do so. To be honest, I'm quite relieved that you appear to at least show some remorse. But now is probably a bad time for you to visit. That girl is here, you understand?"

"That… girl?"

I only asked that because that was the question which came to my mind last. Other options would have been 'Recent trial?', 'Remorse?' or 'Visit?'. I still felt like a kid. Only now I was a kid in school who fails to understand a word of the teacher's question. Not that this felt any better.

"Yes, and I'm quite sure she wouldn't exactly be… pleased to see you after all that has happened. So I'd suggest you come back la-"

"Miles! Didn't somebody just ring the bell?"

"Hm?"

My ears twitched. That voice…

I knew this voice so well, I couldn't be mistaken. Of course that was her! I smiled in relief and was already seriously considering to just push Edgeworth aside, I mean it, and hurry into the office. A second later, however…. Well, that's when I froze in place.

That's when I saw 'that girl'.

The girl who appeared behind Edgeworth-

"Ah, Miles, you're mean! You told me, I could answer the door the next time arou-"

She abruptly stopped talking when she noticed me. Her face, which had been cheerfully smiling just a second ago, suddenly fell and she froze in place, just like me. And that look in her eyes… I knew that look. Only that I couldn't remember anyone ever looking at me like that. This was the look my clients usually had on their faces when the Prosecutor in charge of their case had just brought up an objection with a horrible piece evidence that might ensure the death sentence for them. Those sad, yet accusing eyes which were clearly asking _'Why? Tell me, why are you doing that? Can't you see I'm suffering? Why are you so heartless?'. _I had no idea why she was looking at me like that, and this frightened me.

I would have never imagined ever seeing Maya look at me like that. And it hurt. So much. I bit my lip.

There was another thing that was off. In my whole time knowing her, I never saw Maya wearing anything else than her Spirit Medium clothing or the waitress uniform of Trés Bien. But today she was different. In more than just one way…

Maya was wearing her long hair tied up in a ponytail and the purple pearls she always wore on her bangs had been replaced by ribbons with a heart pattern on them. Her Kimono-like robe was gone as well. Instead, she was wearing a light, colorful dress. The only accessory that was still the same from every time I met her was the pearl necklace with her spare Magatama around her neck.

"…M-Maya…?"

I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but every time I tried to say the words, I had to gulp. That's how much her expression irritated and frightened me.

She kept looking at me for a few seconds longer, her eyes slowly beginning to fill with tears:

"Y-You…"

Unable to say anything, she continued to stare at me a few moments longer until I saw the first two tears rolling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away. And that's when her sad look turned into an enraged glare. I felt like she was trying to kill me with her eyes!

"…What is _this person_ doing here, Miles!" she asked, turning towards Edgeworth.

Edgeworth remained silent, but I could tell he was tense and slightly confused by the way his eyes twitched. Apparently he was at a loss for words. And so was I.

_(Maya… Maya, just what happened?)´_

"M-Maya… Is something wrong?"

"Ah, so now that the trial's over, I am suddenly 'Maya' and not 'Ms. Fey' or… or… -what was the other one…? Oh, yeah, 'Missy'! Well?"

"Mi…ssy?... Hngh!"

Before I knew it, I had to back off, since Maya was approaching me with steps, so loud they would have scared a lion into running away.

" '_Something wrong'? _How can you just ask that after what you did to them?" she shouted at me, apparently trying to make me lean backwards enough that I'd trip and fall.

_(Them…?)_

"Maya, I don't get it! Did something ha-"

"You **horrible, heartless **monster!"

_(Ouch. That one hurt.)_

"Miles and I will give you thirty seconds to leave, you hear me?"

At least now I knew that she was being serious. Something I didn't remember must have happened… Apparently I did something, and apparently it was something terrible enough for Maya to shout at me like that. Which meant it must have been something incredibly horrible. As Maya suddenly turned around for some reason, I used the chance to take another quick glance in Edgeworth's direction… and it was obvious, that he was trying hard not to look at me.

_( …Maya… Edgeworth…what is going on here?)_

I tried to recall everything that had recently happened, but a possible reason for Maya's anger just wouldn't come to my mind. When I left my eyes of Edgeworth, in order to look at her again, she was gone.

_(Did she run back inside…?)_

"You should leave now…" Edgeworth told me from the side. "We can talk later. Somewhere else."

Again, I turned towards him: "Edgeworth…"

"Just one more question, Wright… Do you feel sorry?"

"Huh?"

I looked up confused, but Edgeworth was still not looking into my eyes. Nervously, I started gesturing, so he would look at me:

"Sorry? I don't even know what happened!"

"Hm…"

Finally, Edgeworth looked at me from the corners of his eyes.

"I see…"

"Would you please be so nice as to tell me what is going on here?"

"…"

_(Hey! Don't give me the ellipsis! I'm really in the dark here!...Hm?)_

This moment, I noticed something on Edgeworth's jacket. A small, golden 'button'.

A kind of button I knew… all too well. And definitely didn't belong there. I gulped.

"Edgeworth… Is that an… Attorney's Badge?"

My eyes were fixed on the familiar shape of the badge, pinned on my old friend's jacket. Edgeworth reacted rather surprised:

"Hm? Well, yes… I'm always wearing it there. Did you never notice?"

_(No, because you're not supposed to have one!)_

I felt the sweat running down my forehead as I thought this. Edgeworth smiled a little bit for a short moment:

"Well, it's quite small after all, so I guess it's easy to miss it. This makes one wonder if the slightly bigger Prosecutor's badge is supposed to imply something. Then again, I never saw any of you openly wearing your badges before... Why is that, actually?"

_('Any of us'?)_

I didn't like what this sounded like… Especially, because this was entirely impossible.

_(What do you… Damn it! Just what is going on here? I need to know…Now!) _

"Edgeworth, why-"

"Still there? _I'll show you!"_

My eyes were still on Edgeworth, but my ears told me that Maya had just returned. They also told me that she apparently had not calmed down yet. In fact, she seemed to be even _more _enraged then before. I moved my head to the left side and…

_(!)_

Baseball Bat. I think I don't need to say more.

"_You! Leave! NOW!" _Maya screamed, so loud, I could downright feel my eardrums struggling to not shatter. I couldn't remember Maya having such strong chords. She clumsily swung the baseball bat back and forth, glaring at me in a way that made me wish I could turn invisible right where I stood. I stared at her waving the bat.

_(…M-Maya, you can't be serious-)_

"HIIYA!

A strike, and one that just barely missed my nose at that.

_( Yikes! She **can** be serious!)_

Maya's random movements with the bat had also caused Edgeworth to duck and back off in shock. Immediately afterwards, he raised his finger in an attempt to get Maya's attention: "Listen, Maya, I'd really appreciate it if you'd put away that ba-YARGH!"

She swung to strike once more, just barely missing Edgeworth's head on the way. This was the moment when I realized that, no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't get inside that office now, let alone be able to lead a normal conversation with Edgeworth or, least of all, Maya. There was only one option left for me: run. Run before berserker Maya here got a chance to crack my skull like a chestnut. By the time of her third strike I was, thankfully, out of range, I don't know about Edgeworth, though. I ran down the corridor wishing I had never left the bed this morning.

_(Why is this happening? Why? Edgeworth … The Attorney's Badge on his clothes… Maya…)_

"Yeah! Run! …Next time in court, Miles will smash you! Right, Miles?"

The fact that Edgeworth wasn't adding anything, made me quite sure that at least some of Edgeworth's thoughts right now were quite similar to mine.

"Go away and _never _come back, you lying, truth-twisting, ruthless…Uhng…!

I stopped. Maya had sobbed. Just for a moment, but I had clearly heard it. I knew that she had told me to go, but… I couldn't help but turn around once more. What I saw where two wet eyes, which were, regardless, still carrying that angry glare. I had really never seen her like this before… What had she called me? A liar? Truth-twisting…ruthless…? Maya would never say something like that without a good reason. So...

Before I knew it, I noticed that I had clutched my hand to a fist. And it was trembling.

_(…I can't just leave. I have to find out what is going on and help her… She is my friend, after all…)_

I tried to talk loud enough for her to hear me over the twenty meter distance:

"Maya…. Listen, I don't know what happened, I swear, but if there is something I can do, I'll-"

But she didn't allow me to end the sentence. A hit on my forehead cut me short:

"Uhff!..."

As I heard my ears ringing like doorbells, something fell down to my feet and I spotted a yellow baseball rolling down the corridor. I looked over towards Maya. She had thrown it:

"Go away!" she repeated once again.

"Ma-"

"Just… leave!"

I had wanted to try talking to her once more… Even though I knew it was useless. She wouldn't listen. I still had no idea why…

_(…!)_

All I knew was, that she was raising the baseball bat again and that the strong suspicion that she was about to throw it at me like the ball before was enough to persuade me to run away.

Still, her sobbing and wet eyes from some minutes ago just wouldn't leave me alone for some hours afterwards. Maya was obviously feeling horrible… and it appeared to be my fault.

How was this possible?

An unpleasant idea was starting to form in my head and, just like Maya's sobbing, just wouldn't leave anymore. It was a rather stupid idea, which sounded more like some make-believe story from a children's book.

And yet I could downright hear my own voice in my head telling me _"But it has to be like this. There's no other way."_ Over and over again.

My head was starting to hurt and this was not exclusively thanks to Maya's little demonstration of her 'talent' at ball sports. I needed some time to think. To think very, very hard.

* * *

**May 1st, 12:20pm**

**People Park**

The park was about the calmest place in town. Usually when I needed a calm place to think, my office did a fine job, but with that option out of question, the park had to do. The park bench was uncomfortable, and it was a cold and cloudy day, but I really didn't feel like driving back to that mystery apartment… Even though I slowly was getting an idea of whose apartment it was.

Staring at the Prosecutor's badge that I had found this morning, I sat there, gnawing my lip. This was all just too weird.

_(Alright, what do I know now... I woke up in the bedroom of an expensive-looking apartment, which had a wardrobe full of clothes my size and taste. None of the doors were locked and nobody was there, thus I can safely assume that I, in fact, got there on my own. Also, there was this ownerless Prosecutor's badge. And then, there's also apparently Edgeworth 'working' in my office, wearing an Attorney's Badge, and asking me why 'my kind' doesn't wear their badges all the time… uhm…)_

I knew what this meant. It was just, that this was sounding too ridiculous to actually be true. And this is coming from the guy who just recently cross-examined a _ghost_, not to mention working alongside one in irregular intervals for the past 3 years.

_(… Why would Edgeworth think I was a **Prosecutor** all of a sudden? He's what Maya would call my 'archrival'. If anybody should know what side I'm on, it's him. … Maya… I wonder what the reason for her outburst upon seeing me was… Hmm…)_

I closed my eyes and tried to reconstruct the mental image of the baseball-bat-wielding Maya.

_(She was dressed completely differently from usual. I'm sure that quite a few people we know wouldn't even have recognized her like this. What happened to her Medium's uniform? And she was calling Edgeworth "Miles"… And only called me by name one time total, and even then she was using my full name… Of course, that would be nothing too special considering she seemed to be extremely mad at me for some reason, but then there's also her informality towards Edgeworth… And then she mentioned me 'lying' and doing something to someone… Apparently something horrible…)_

I pondered about it for a few seconds, but came to no conclusion and shook my head.

_(Darn, I have really no idea what is going on here…)_

Without truly meaning to examine anything, I kept turning around the Prosecutor's Badge in my hand.

_(What did Maya call me again? A truth-twisting, ruthless liar… Uhmgh…)_

There was the sweat again. I'd soon be forced to change into a different suit and wash this one if this went on like this.

_(Why does that sound like about two thirds of all Prosecutors I ever met? That can't be… can it?... Hm…)_

I looked at the badge again.

_(OK. It's obvious that both Edgeworth and Maya are thinking I'm a Prosecutor now… And I have that badge in my possession for some reason… Also, most Prosecutors earn a lot better than Defense Attorneys… that explains the luxurious apartment. And it's an apartment to which I apparently happen to own the keycard to and it looks a lot like the kind of place I would live at if I was rich… Well…Uhm…Everything points towards me being a Prosecutor. Everything but my own memory …Uhf… That's not good.)_

Well, at least if I was actually in need to change clothes sometime in the near future, I now knew where I had to go in order to do so…

_(Alright, let's follow this strange train of thoughts a little longer… So, I am a Prosecutor. And Edgeworth was in my office… with Maya acting informal towards him. Does that mean __**he's**__ the Defense Attorney among the two of us now?...)_

Considering this weird possibility brought something to my mind… Edgeworth had always dreamt of becoming a Defense Attorney when he was a kid… In fact, he had been one of my inspirations and reasons in becoming an Attorney myself. However, Edgeworth had given up on this ambition long ago. He had finally decided to focus on finding the truth and nothing but the truth in his cases as a Prosecutor… making him more honorable and a heck lot less ruthless than a high percentage of the other lawyers in his occupation. It took him several years to get to this point, but it had been good to know that he got there when he did and even better to know that I played a huge part in bringing him there…

_(Still, this has nothing to do with what is going on right now, does it? I might as well scratch that… No, wait, what am I thinking? There has to be a connection. Edgeworth's and my own job-decisions were strongly connected in several ways… Both of us suddenly having each other's job must mean something. Also… There's still the mystery of Maya's sudden clothes-switch… And her sudden hatred of me…)_

The more I pieced everything together, the less believable it seemed and I was feeling that if I kept going on like this, I'd end up with the script for an episode of the Steel Samurai, instead of a believable story about what was actually happening here. In an act of despair, I took a look at the cell phone, in order to check on the date, praying that it was April 1st, but, frustratingly, I found it to be a whole month later.

_(Hm… let's see, who else could I ask about what is going on here…?)_

Mia came to mind, but contacting her was out of the question, considering what Maya was like at the moment. And asking Pearls to do it was not an option either, considering that she always did what Maya told her and Maya surely wouldn't want her to go near me right now. So much for Mia.

Gumshoe was not exactly what I was looking for either. He barely ever had a clue about anything, so even considering he might be able to tell me what happened would be weird.

Actually… this whole story was looking far too much like being of supernatural nature to be discussed with anyone but Maya and Mia, who were both, as mentioned, not available. Palm to my face, I sighed.

_(This is leading me nowhere…)_

That was when a familiar sound suddenly interrupted my thoughts: The Steel Samurai th- my cell phone's ringtone. Yeah, it just had to be this ringtone. This was weird, considering the cell phone I had on me currently was a different one from the one I originally had… still, the ringtone was exactly the same, except that the sound quality seemed to be a lot better. Surprised, I reached into my pocket and pulled the cell phone out. As expected, the screen was highlighted and showing me that I had just received a text message. The source was given as "Ema" by the message. Surprised, my eyes widened.

Ema… I knew only one girl by that name… But this girl wasn't supposed to be in this town—no, this _country_ right now.

…Then again: bow-tie-wearing Edgeworth eating a doughnut. Everything was possible.

Quickly, I pressed a few buttons and opened the message which then opened up on the screen, reading:

_Found it, Phoenix! ;-)_

_Wasn't easy, but I think I did it! Scientific proof on its way!_

_Let's meet at 5pm in your apartment. I'll give it to you then, alright?_

_Ema._

'Scientific'… Yes, I was thinking of the right Ema. Definitely.

Well, at least she didn't seem to hold a grudge against me all of a sudden… But that was only natural given that she was planning on working to support Prosecutors as a forensic scientist in the future.

This made the 'Me=Prosecutor' theory seem even more likely…

So, Ema was going to meet me in that apartment this afternoon… That didn't sound too bad. At least she was somebody I could hope to get some information about everything that was currently going on from. I quickly returned a short message, reading '_Alright, see you at 5pm' , _just to make sure she would actually be there, and then I put away the cell phone. At least I wanted to put it away, but the phone's ringtone went off once more, causing a few birds pecking on seeds near the bench to fly off and almost surprised me enough to drop the phone. In the end, however, I managed to keep my grip on it and take a look at its screen.

'_Miles Edgeworth' _it read.

Immediately, I became a whole lot more alert again. Sitting up straight on the bench, I pressed the green button and put the phone to my ear. I tried to answer with a calm voice, an attempt which failed horribly due to the fact that I just really wasn't calm at the moment:

"Edgeworth? Is that you?"

I heard a familiar voice responding from the receiver.

"Can you be at Eldoon's noodle stand at 12:45?" he asked.

I took a look at my watch then.

_(12:30… At this time of day, the stand is usually a 10 minutes' walk from here, so…)_

"You know where that is, right?" Edgeworth asked after a few seconds of silence from me.

"Yeah… I do."

"Good. We can talk about everything there."

'Everything'… That sounded great.

"Alright…" Even though it was unnecessary, I nodded. "I'll be there."

* * *

_Yeah, I think it's quite obvious now in which direction this is going, isn't it? But don't think that was it yet. I've got a few aces up my sleeves. _

_As for Maya calling Edgeworth "Miles", I wanted to come up with a 'real' nickname, but "Edgey" made me think of Wendy Oldbag (God no…) and "Miley" of… uhm… Hannah Montana (Sweet heaven's mercy….No, no, no…) _

_And… well, unless you're a fox with two tails (hint, hint) there's not much else you can do with a name like "Miles". :-P_

_About the noodle stand: When I first wrote this chapter, I wasn't that far into "Apollo Justice" yet, so I barely knew anything about that noodle stand, except that Phoenix and Maya frequented it (which makes sense, seen how Maya's "Burgers" were actually Ramen Noodles in the Japanese version). Just in case you're wondering how in the world Edgeworth would choose that stand as a meeting place. I was just in need for a place where they could talk to each other at a ridiculously small table and that stand just stood there and screamed "Take me, Take me!" at me. _


	3. Her Voice on the Radio?

**May 1st, 12:50pm**

**Park: Eldoon's noodle stand**

I have never been a fan of awkward silences and this was no exception. Standing at a small table, two bowls of noodle soup in front of us, both of them untouched and slowly getting cold, we were just looking at each other like we were holding a staring contest. And Edgeworth was winning.

_(…He didn't blink even once yet. I'm sure, he's waiting for me to say something. …If I just knew what…)_

Finally, thank heaven's sweet mercy, Edgeworth decided to break the silence:

"So… You wanted to tell me something, Wright?"

Then again, it might have been a little too soon to already thank the heavens.

"…"

Of course there was something I wanted to tell him, but there was just no way to say that if I didn't want to be admitted to the local psychiatry right here and now. Edgeworth, however, Defense Attorney or not, still seemed to be as unwilling to waste his time was always.

_(Uh Oh, he's doing the up-down finger again… I should better come up with something to say, before he leaves… Let's see-)_

"So… We wanted to talk about that 'recent trial', am I right?"

This was the only question I could come up with, and I prayed that I wouldn't hit some kind of nerve with it. I was already bad enough at not hitting those when I actually knew what I was talking about. This way, every single word I said was pure conversation gambling. Edgeworth waited for a moment, as if he was thinking about something and then… smiled.

"… Well, you've been 'Wright' ever since I first came to know you, so I guess that this is the case here too."

_(Wait a minute… was that just Edgeworth attempting to make a __**friendly joke**__? Could anybody please tell me what planet we are on right now?)_

That calm smile he suddenly had on his lips was making me nervous because I sure as heck knew that it wasn't supposed to be there. It was weird… on one hand, this was the Edgeworth I have known for such a long time with most of his traits and quirks… on the other hand something was just so horribly off, that he could have as well been a very talentless imposter.

"However, this is no time to make jokes." He said, returning back to a lot less unsettling expression: His disagreeing, condescending face. "…And surely not the time to smile like an idiot either."

_(Oops…)_

I quickly pulled the corners of my mouth, which seemed to have been stuck up there in this stupid position ever since I asked Edgeworth about the topic down and tried to look as serious as possible.

"I… am sorry."

"You better be. This is about human lives. I can't see how you can bring up this topic smiling."

_(You were smiling too! …Wait. Human lives…? Oh no. I don't like where this is going… If I just knew what this trial he mentioned was about… Hmm… alright. Seeing how he apparently has no clue that I have no clue, I should probably just try to play along with the 'Prosecutor' thing. Maybe I'll find out something then.)_

"Yes, I see… Uhm…Well, anyway… good work in the courtroom the other day, Edgeworth! Heheheh…"

_(…I was not supposed to laugh now, was I?)_

"Hm…" Edgeworth turned his head away and sighed. "But not good enough…"

_(OK, apparently I won that trial…Too bad I don't feel like a winner at all.)_

"It was obvious that those two were not guilty…" He looked at me again "But you still managed to persuade the judge of the opposite. I am always baffled by how far your stubbornness can go.

_(Was that a compliment or…?)_

"I really tried everything, but in the end… No matter how many stupid mistakes you make, you always find a way to turn things around again. That's a talent, I'll give you that. I just wish you'd think about the consequences when you do…"

"…"

I just stood there and let him talk. I don't know if my speechlessness was due to my lack of knowledge of the whole situation, or simply because I felt sorry for Edgeworth looking as miserable as he did. After all, from what he told me, he failed to get a "Not Guilty" verdict for a pair of perfectly innocent clients… Because of me.

I still didn't understand what was going on here, but no matter what, at the core, Edgeworth was still the same boy who once told me that one is "Innocent, until proven guilty". In the end, his objection was what inspired me to become a Defense Attorney…

…So why was it that this wasn't the case anymore? What happened? I needed to know… as quickly as possible.

I needed to talk some more with Edgeworth, in order to figure out, but I couldn't go on about this case. I knew virtually nothing about it, so I'd pretty surely raise suspicions and hit several of Edgeworth's nerves if I just opened my mouth and started talking about it like I knew what happened. My only chance was to change the topic to something more harmless.

"…So… Did Maya calm down?"

Edgeworth's expression, thankfully, became a whole lot calmer again when I brought up Maya's name.

"The Fey girl?" he asked. "Yes, she stopped raging shortly after you left. I think she's still asleep…"

"She's sleeping? At this time of day?" I asked rather surprised.

Edgeworth nodded.

"She went through a lot in the last few days, I think you suddenly showing up was just a little bit too much. She fell down onto the sofa and asleep right afterwards. She's a very busy girl you know, so the additional stress is dragging her down even more than necessary…"

Maya, a 'very busy girl'? That would be news to me.

"So… she's working at your Office, right?"

As soon as I asked that question, Edgeworth suddenly started laughing, causing me to back off in shock.

_(That would be a nice, pleasant laughter he's got there, if it wasn't coming out of Edgeworth's mouth. This way, it's just out of place and creepy. Brr…)_

"Very funny, Wright, if that girl was working at my office, I'd have more clients per month than I can take!"

"…?"

What did he mean by that?

"No, she's not my partner, if you were asking that… She just acted as my co-council during the trial because of her personal involvement in the Case, nothing more."

"…Oh."

_(If I knew what you were talking about, this would be useful information, nothing less.)_

"I know her quite well because she's the twins' cousin, and I guess she must have taken some kind of liking to me by now… She keeps asking me little requests, like-"

"…Going out and buying her mountains of burgers and instant noodle-soup?"

"Hm?"

Edgeworth looked up in surprise: "How do you…?"

"Oh, I just guessed!" I quickly lied.

_(At least, Maya still seems to be pretty much the same as before personality-wise…)_

"…To be honest, it is rather annoying that she only seems to be visiting so I can do things for her, but it's just hard to say 'No' to that permanently clueless smile she has there… Still, it is a little strange that she insisted on using my first name right away..."

_(Exactly the same. Hm, maybe I should warn him…)_

"You should probably keep an eye on her…" I said, trying to appear calm "Girls like this one are, you know… quite prone to getting themselves into trouble. Kidnappings and wrong accusations… the works, you know."

"Hm… Yes, you're probably right about that."

_(Wait…Is he agreeing with me? Wow… What a strange feeling.)_

"I guess, that's probably the reason why she spends most of her spare time in my office in the first place. Before, she used to stick close to her sister. It's quite clear that nobody would have even dared to harm her while she was near her… But now…"

"Her sister…?" I looked up for a moment, before I let my head sink again: "Mia…"

"Mia Fey was the best at her profession, nobody can deny this." Edgeworth told me. Obviously, I hadn't whispered quietly enough.

"Yes… That's more than just true." I agreed… "She was something… special."

And I seriously couldn't remember the last time I agreed that much with Edgeworth. Probably because it had been our job to disagree with each other for several years now, and, even in the current situation, it actually still was.

"Wright…" Edgeworth was apparently noticing that I was about to space out "If you too think like this, then why did you do this?"

"Huh?"

_(Do… what?)_

Once again, this weird feeling of not understanding something I was clearly expected to understand overcame me. I was about to ask him what he was talking about, but I should never get this far… The voice on the noodle stand's radio interrupted me.

I'm not talking about the DJ, he wasn't even moderating at this point. It was the voice singing the lyrics of the current song that surprised me. Turning around to face the radio, I started to listen more closely. The voice wasn't singing English, but this wasn't what struck me as weird. It was rather a certain feeling of familiarity, which had startled me. I didn't notice right away, why exactly the voice of the songstress seemed familiar… only when I had heard several seconds of her singing, I finally understood what was going on. Or, rather, didn't understand.

"That song…" I looked up and stated my revelation wide-eyed: "T-That's Maya's voice!"

"Oh?" Edgeworth looked towards the radio as well, apparently ignoring my baffled look, as he made no attempt to ask me about it. "Ah, 'Gyakuten Shimai' again. Apparently the song is still in the Top 10 after all this time…"

I turned towards him:

"Gah-ku-… what?"

"It's Japanese. The title means 'Turnabout Sisters'." Edgeworth smiled "I think it is not hard to grasp where the girl got the inspiration for this title, is it?"

"You mean… that's actually Maya singing there on the radio?"

"Well, rather, 'MAYOI's."

"…'Mayoi'?" I guess my face had 'I don't get it' written all over it in this moment. Was he speaking Spanish all of the sudden?

"…So you really don't know?"

As Edgeworth's skeptic look hit me, I started sweating again and felt dumber than ever before.

The grin which then appeared on his face was a whole lot more familiar to me than the smile he had previously on it; I had seen it in court many, many times before, so I had a feeling what was going to happen now…

"Please be so kind as to show me the stone you are living under sometime, Wright. It must be a very calm place."

_(I knew it... Ungh…)_

The condescending look disappeared from his face again, as he started explaining:

"Mia Fey's younger sister, Maya Fey, is the girl behind the stage name "MAYOI", who had her breakthrough three years back. I cannot believe you actually forgot that."

"Eh… I-It must have slipped past me…"

_(Maya, a pop-idol? No way… Then again: Me, a prosecutor? No way… No way… No way…Hell! How did I end up here?)_

"Are you alright?" Edgeworth's voice called me back to reality. "You look a little pale."

"Uhm… N-No. I'm fine. Thanks…"

It cost me all my nerve not to jump up and randomly yell "Objection" at everything happening around me right now.

_(So Maya became a songstress several years back?… But… I don't understand it. All those changes… How far do they go back? …Hm…)_

A thought crossed my mind:

_(If I could just manage to lead a conversation about our schooldays with Edgeworth, I might be able to determine where exactly our memories start dividing from each other's… That way, I would know how much knowledge I'm missing exactly… Then I could… I dunno… go and claim I had amnesia or something…)_

This actually wasn't too far off the mark. I have had amnesia before. That way, I wouldn't have to constantly apologize for "not remembering" stuff… But what then? How do I fix this whole mess?

Thinking about all of this, my head actually started to hurt, reminding me even more of the one time I actually had amnesia.

I heard Edgeworth talking all of the sudden:

"I'm quite sure she is listening to this song right now as well."

"Hm?" I looked up again and at Edgeworth "You mean Maya?"

"You probably don't know this, but she wrote this song for her sister." Edgeworth said "So they could think of each other when apart. And their mother helped her write the lyrics. She told me this a few days back."

"I see…"

_(Thinking of Mia to such a cheerful melody… Well, that's Maya for you. _

… _Wait.)_

"Her _mother _helped her with the lyrics?" I asked in surprise. "You mean… Misty Fey?"

"Hm… Misty… Yes, I think this was her name."

_(So Misty Fey is still alive and in contact with her daughter…?)_

The more information I was picking up, the clearer it became where exactly the "turning point" where my memory was starting to differ from everybody else's had to be… But I couldn't be quite sure yet. I had to wait a little longer… even if it was a hard thing to do.

"Hey… Edgeworth…" I tried to look him in the eyes without showing how nervous I was. "…Remember back in school, when we first became friends?"

Bringing up this topic was obviously surprising Edgeworth, but it didn't seem to displease him. He nodded: "Of course I do. It was the first time I was trying to defend a person in a 'trial' after all."

I returned the nod: "They were accusing me of taking your lunch money during PE class. Nobody believed me that I was innocent, nobody was standing by my side… And then you objected and saved me from the angry mob."

"You were just a really sorry sight, you know." Edgeworth told me, shrugging and shaking his head. "And even though it was more than obvious that it was actually Larry who had taken the money, they were still pressing you to confess to the theft. It was disgusting enough to just listen to it, I didn't even want to start to imagine how you were feeling."

"I felt helpless." I confessed "Like the whole world had turned on me suddenly. The only thing I wished for this moment was that there was just one single voice in the world helping me, opposing all the others… And you did. You and Larry. You really impressed me back then. That objection you delivered back then was actually what inspired me to-"

I stopped right there, when I noticed that the words "Defense Attorney" had almost slipped me. I then thought of badge lacking on my suit and suddenly felt naked.

"Did you mean to say something just now?" Edgeworth asked.

"N-No… Not really…"

Did I ever mention that I am a horrible liar when I'm nervous?

Edgeworth was obviously aware of this fact and looked at me in a way like he was going to press me to end the sentence every minute. Believe me, I know how people look when they are about to do this. But in the end, he just decided to let it be for a reason and resumed talking himself instead:

"You know, Wright, for a few months after that incident back then, I was actually convinced that you were going to become a Defense Attorney as well."

"Hm?" I locked my eyes on Edgeworth again in surprise "Why?"

"Every time I mentioned it, your eyes would light up brightly." Edgeworth explained. "Like somebody had just told you that your allowance would be doubled in the near future. This made me think that I had lit the 'fire' within you as well… The fire of enthusiasm for this kind of work, I mean."

"…Yeah… I guess you really did…"

I stood there for some seconds and listened to Maya's song on the radio, which had just entered the chorus for the second time. I still couldn't understand the words, but the song was sounding way too cheerful for my current mood.

_(God, even when she's not actually here, she can still kill my nerves…)_

"Is that so?

Edgeworth's voice again. My ears perked.

"Then tell me, if you truly developed a passion for the work of Defense Attorneys back then, how come you're working on the opposite side of the courtroom now?"

_(That's a very, very good question. Would you care to answer it for me? Please?)_

And Maya's song in the background was still as unfitting as ever. I wished for somebody to pass me a boot, so I could shut it up. Or make it a ballad at the very least. Yeah, a slow, depressing ballad version of that song. That would have gone wonderfully with my mood at the moment…

Edgeworth was obviously waiting for an answer… again. And again, I had no idea what to say.

"Uhm… I think…"

_(There's just one way to get out of this one… bluffing!)_

"Because of that incident, of course!"

"No need to slam the table."

_(Oops.)_

Force of habit had kicked in. I quickly hid my hands behind my back.

"Still… yes, you are probably right. Yes, what happened back then… that was the cause, wasn't it?"

Bingo.

The bluff had worked. Mentioning some detail without actually being sure if it held any kind of significance and pretend that I knew about it had worked. All I had to do then was wait for the 'witness's' reaction. It was simple. I had done it a thousand times before and was relieved that it had worked this time too. By mentioning an 'incident' I had made sure that Edgeworth would start talking about the point where what 'has happened' and what 'I remember' start departing from each other. I was waiting for Edgeworth to resume talking, but now he seemed to be the one thinking about something… But I couldn't wait. I needed him to tell me… if my suspicion was right…

The class-trial was still the same in 'both versions'. And Misty Fey was alive. This meant…

I would have never thought that I'd ever have to bring that topic up again.

"It… happened around DL-6, if I remember right, correct?"

"You do really hate this table, don't you?"

_(Ungh!)_

Hands behind my back. Quickly.

"Also…"

Edgeworth finally took a small sip of his soup… to my surprise. That soup must have been standing there for 45 minutes now. The only person I would have imagined to take a sip of this now without putting it into the microwave beforehand was Maya. Then again, Edgeworth somehow managed to make soup drinking look like something incredibly elegant. I strongly suspected that he was only doing this due to the lack of a cup of tea on this table. He was probably trying to give up this calm gentleman-vibe… And successful in doing so.

"Say… what do you mean by 'around DL-6'?"

I held my breath for a second and jerked.

_(Did I just hear that right?...)_

"DL-6… is that a case file?"

_(… I did…)_

I couldn't believe it… Of course! This made sense!

Apart from the fact that everybody's pasts suddenly seemed to have been reorganized with me as the only one noticing, this fit perfectly into place.

"…And you are sure, that you are alright?" Edgeworth asked again "I have seen pieces of chalk looking less pale than you, to be honest."

"I-I'm fine, don't worry!" I quickly lied. "Well, uhm… maybe I'm catching a cold… I'm prone to those, you know? Ehe…"

"And that bruise on your cheek?"

"Hm?"

When Edgeworth mentioned it, I quickly touched my cheeks and was surprised to actually find one of them actually feeling a little numb…

_(When did I get this one?)_

"Uhm… Ehehe… I guess this must have happened before, at the Office… You know… Maya… Ehe…"

_(Even though I'm quite sure that she didn't manage to hit me…)_

"But that bruise looks more like somebody had hit you with their bare hand.

_(…It does?)_

"Also, if she actually managed to hit you with this bat of hers, you probably wouldn't be standing here now."

_(…True.)_

Great, so now there was yet another mystery to add to my mystery pool. Just who slapped me so hard in the face that my cheek was still feeling numb and why? Not knowing this kind of stuff was slowly driving me nuts… And I'm sure that it showed.

Edgeworth was looking at me with this pressing look again. I knew that he was suspecting something, I just knew it. But for some reason, he just didn't try to make me tell him the truth about my behavior. And I was seriously glad he didn't. I had been cross-examined before. By Mia. And back then, I failed horribly at delivering a solid testimony. Given, I had been a young university student at the time, but I seriously doubted that I could do any better now.

Also, I had no time to come up with a 'testimony' for Edgeworth right now. My mind was busy with something completely different… Trying to piece together everything I just found out.

It made so much sense all of a sudden…

Still, that did not explain why I was a Prosecutor now… I needed him to tell me more. At all cost.

Thinking about this, I started staring at Edgeworth in anticipation.

And he stared back.

I suddenly didn't feel like staring at all anymore and felt the nervousness kicking in again in its stead. Darn.

"In any case…" Edgeworth finally stopped stabbing me with his eyes "…we have departed too far from our actual topic, haven't we?"

_(Wait, what… NO! Keep talking about whatever you just mentioned! I beg of you!)_

"All those things are of complete insignificance to this recent case…"

_(Ungh… Did I ever tell you, how much I hate it when you use that word? 'Insignificant'?)_

"So, you wanted to tell me something. Do it now. I am waiting."

He stressed 'waiting' in a way that would have given me goosebumps if I hadn't had them already by this point. Once again, I needed to come up with something to say…

…So, I was a prosecutor. And I apparently just won a trial and got a set of defendants declared guilty. A set of defendants which, according to Edgeworth here, were absolutely innocent.

_(Alright, what would I want to hear… Ah, I think I know…)_

"Edgeworth!"

"Congratulations, you just shortened this table's lifespan by another 2 years."

Hands down. I really had to stop doing this.

"This is not a courtroom, Wright."

"I know, I know…"

"So, what were you going to say?"

I refrained from hitting the table again.

"Are you absolutely sure that the defendants from this last case were innocent?" I asked "Because, let me tell you this: It was never in my intention to get a guilty verdict for someone who doesn't deserve it!"

"So you seriously thought those two to be guilty?"

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow.

"W-Well, yeah!"

"How exactly did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because… _(…Yeah, this sounds good.) _Because I trusted the judgment of the policemen who worked on the case! They did their best to figure those two out after all, didn't they?"

"You mean that incompetent, permanently broke detective, who apparently gets progressively less salary every month and wouldn't able to tell the difference between a knife and a ruler without trying to cut his own finger with them?

_(Why do I have a feeling I know whom he's talking about…?)_

"Excuse me, but I just don't believe that person's opinion overrules that of your own girlfriend in your priorities."

"My… what?"

I wished I hadn't shouted this. Edgeworth was watching me from the corner of his eyes, obviously registering my reaction into his mind and trying to figure out its meaning.

_(If this goes on like this, he'll figure out what's wrong with 'me' before I do…)_ I thought.

"No wonder she broke up with you… You took away two family members from her after all…"

_(My… girlfriend…? Two of her family members…?)_

It was only then, that I remembered something… The photo, which I found that morning. The one which showed me and…

"W-Wait, you're not talking about…Iris?"

I felt the strong urge to slap myself after I heard my voice shouting out her name. Edgeworth nodded:

"Iris Fey, of course. Or do you have any other girlfriends nobody knows of?"

"O-Of course not!"

_(Actually, I don't have any girlfriend at all… Iris… That's been over for years, damn it! How come… Why… Wait. Iris… Fey?)_

Suddenly… it clicked in my head.

Iris was 'Iris Fey'.

Everything was different now. I could not rely on my memories of everyone's history to be "correct" any longer. And Iris being called "Iris Fey"… meant that Morgan Fey probably never divorced from the twins' father. Meaning they grew up as cousins alongside…

I took away two family members… and Maya's behavior towards me… Edgeworth mentioned that Maya was probably thinking of the song she wrote for her sister at the moment…

_(…!)_

I felt a heavy lump in my throat trying to suffocate me. That conclusion… couldn't be correct. I'd never have done that! I'd never have…

Why was everything starting to blur out…?

Even Edgeworth's serious voice was sounding unclear…

"So… you were loyal to your Iris. And you hold respect for Mia Fey. I'll ask you again then, Wright… Why did you tear Iris's family apart and get Mia Fey declared guilty of attempted murder then?"

I had led a huge chunk of the previous conversation under a wrong assumption.

Mia Fey wasn't dead. Not here.

Mia was alive. She was still alive.

But she was in jail. Probably for life. Because of… me?

The last thing I noticed was how my legs failed to support my weight any longer… My body hit the ground.

* * *

_Alright guys, this fanfic is now officially betaed! Applause, Applause!_

_All future chapters will, of course, be beta-read as well. _

_I'm trying to write the characters as In-character as possible, however, I tried to tone down the Von-Karma-traits in Edgeworth's character a lot and make him a hint more open hearted, due to his change in history. I'm still having a little trouble writing that guy, since I haven't played "Investigations" (Read: 50% of his Character development) yet. _

_As for Maya being a Pop-idol, I got that idea when I realized that she was voiced by __**Nana-freakin'-Mizuki**__ in the Japanese trailers, one of my favorite J-Pop singers ever. If you want to know what Nana Mizuki's voice is like, think Hinata from Naruto or look up some of her songs up on Youtube. She has a pretty awesome range and can go from tomboy-ish deep to girly high. And I tend to listen to her brand of Anime-Pop a lot while writing my Fanfictions. The songs have a pretty strong atmosphere._

_'MAYOI' is a reference to her original japanese name, "Mayoi". It means, depending on how it's written either "True evening" or "Hesitation/Doubt", by the way. It's written in all-caps to reference the tendency of japanese Pop and Rock singers to write their (band's) names just like that.  
_

_The song on the radio is, of course, Maya's theme from the games, the "Turnabout Sisters theme". Yes, that bubbly, cute melody that's playing every time you're staring at her sprites in the office. As for the song being in Japanese, I mean, why not? It's a proven fact that the language used for mystical documents in Kurain is Japanese and that Misty Fey can speak it, so I thought that would be a nice way to get her name to be dropped in the conversation. _

_Finally, I hope you have as much fun imagining Phoenix banging an innocent wooden table in a park to death with his hands as me. :-D_


	4. Miseries

**May 1th, 16:20pm**

**Law Offices**

"Ungh…"

My head hurt. A lot.

There's not much more to say about my state of being from the moment I woke up again.

The environment around me appeared as a blurry mess to me. I opened my eyes and asked:

"…What… happened?"

"You fainted, fell to the ground, knocked over the table you had previously harassed, which completely destroyed it in the process, spilled two-hour-old noodle soup on my lap as well as yours, and you hit your head on a stone. I had to pay the damage and call the ambulance for you." A voice answered. "Do you need any more details?"

"…No thanks… I think I get it… Uhh…"

Slowly, my eyesight cleared up again. As I sat up, I found myself lying on the sofa in my office… No, wait. Since everything was different, this was Edgeworth's office now…

…The very thought boggled my mind.

I let my eyes sweep through the room and noticed that it was a lot different from how I remembered it… Charley the plant was missing, and so was the poster of Mia's favorite movie. The law books were still there, but they appeared to be different ones from Mia's. Also, one of the shelves was now being claimed by a suspiciously large Steel Samurai doll…

Apparently, the only thing that was really the same was the furniture which had probably already been there before Mia rented this office in the first place…

Still, I felt more at home here than I did in the spacious, expensive apartment I woke up in earlier. I sighed.

Edgeworth was sitting at the desk, apparently looking through some files. I was wondering if he was just faking work, in order not to have me trying to talk to him, but that suspicion died when I noticed with what kind of precision he was reading, adding comments and correcting the papers. I would have never been able to do that… To be honest, I never really spent my free-time looking through files. I only cared about them as long as the trials were still going on…

…Was that the reason why he kept claiming that my methods were 'amateurish'?… Well, probably they were. Still… I won a fine pile of cases using those methods! Isn't that better than nothing?

Finally, I brought myself to ask something.

"…Where's Maya?"

"Apparently, she left a while ago," Edgeworth answered without even looking up from his files. "And left a note, saying that her manager had called her for a meeting."

"Oh…"

"Since we're talking about her now anyway: I noticed how you keep using her first name ever since this morning." Finally he looked over to me. "Is there a specific reason for this?"

I jerked.

_(Ungh, how to get myself out of that one…?)_

"Uhm, well, you see… I just think that 'Maya' is a cute name, and she's quite a cute girl. So I found it only fitting to call her that since it's her name and all… yeah…"

Edgeworth's face had 'I don't buy it' written all over it and made me wish I hadn't answered his question at all.

"Interesting." he said in a very unimpressed tone. "Just 3 days ago she was 'an annoying, loud mouthed brat who seriously needed to get all that air out of her head', to quote you in your own words. And now all of a sudden you are calling her 'cute'."

I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. Did I seriously call Maya that? Out loud? I mean, sure, it was likely that I thought it, but actually saying those words…

"S-She's not annoying…" I quickly replied, as if to take back what Edgeworth claimed I had said before. "Just way too energetic... But that's just part of who she is, so..."

Edgeworth interrupted me.

"I see."

The tone in his voice made me jerk again. It sounded to me like I wasn't supposed to know that much about Maya's personality…

As I had nothing to say, another awkward silence happened. I tried to use those few seconds to piece together a few careful questions to ask in my head, but I couldn't even get that far…

"You're acting strange today.

Edgeworth looked up from his files again, focusing his eyes on me. I gulped.

"I noticed a while ago… Actually, not too long after you came here this morning… Ever since then, you've been behaving very strangely, and not at all like your normal self. For example, your informality towards Maya Fey… Or the fact that you seem rather clueless whenever I mention our recent trial… Or your sudden respect of me, as well Mia Fey… Not to mention you haven't made a single arrogant, sarcastic remark yet. Nor have you laughed at me for still showing interest in my old case files, for that matter."

He made an obvious gesture towards the sheets of paper on his desk.

I gnawed my lip, as I started to realize why exactly Maya… the Maya of "here" seemed to despise me so much. From Edgeworth's description, the "me" who she knew didn't exactly sound like he was a pleasant character.

"Your whole mannerism today… it is like you were…"

"…Not really 'Phoenix Wright', huh?"

"No."

This quick answer hit me as a surprise.

"Actually…" Edgeworth continued, interrupted by a single sigh "It's exactly the other way around."

"Eh…?"

"It is like you were much more like 'Phoenix Wright' all of a sudden. …The one I know, of course…"

The last four words were only whispered, but I still understood them clearly.

Edgeworth paused for a few seconds, before he resumed talking.

"Wright, I know that something is wrong with you today, even though I don't exactly know what. It's in a certain way, like you were back to… how you where when-  
I even considered amnesia, but the obvious traces of your usual courtroom behavior, which you displayed down at the stand, caused me to reject that idea."

"Uhm, about that… I'm going to pay that table, promise."

"Wright, this is not about that poor, abused table. This is about you."

"…"

_(What should I do? Edgeworth is on to me… should I just tell him? But what if he ends up thinking I had just lost it…? Argh, but he even considered amnesia! He knows that I have absolutely no recollection of taking part in that trial he and Maya mentioned!)_

"You don't need to tell me what happened to you." Edgeworth said, interrupting my train of thoughts and rendering it useless. He kept looking at me focused. "But it's clear that you have no recollection of what happened during the trial of Mia and Dahlia Fey, right?"

I held my breath:

"W-Wait… Dah… Dahlia is in this too?"

Dahlia Hawthorne… The young woman in white who had pretended to be my girlfriend for several months… She abused Iris's sibling love. In the end, the true face behind her innocent mask was that of a heartless serial killer, who would have done anything for a comfortable life…

Edgeworth nodded, apparently feeling reassured in his suspicions. I, meanwhile, continued stuttering.

"But Dahlia was… Dahlia is…"

"Currently in prison for a crime she never committed."

_(Dahlia… innocent…? …Alongside… Mia…? I don't get it… I don't get it… I don't get it… I don't get it!)_

"As I thought… Judged by your face, you have clearly no idea."

"…"

"Again, I'm not interested in you telling me why exactly you don't seem to remember it or why your personality took such a sharp turn all of a sudden… All I know is that considering your current state, you might be a little more open to what I said the other day."

Confusion was, yet again, my reaction to this.

"What you said the other-?"

Edgeworth seemed to be aware that I didn't know and went right on to explain it.

"I wanted you to realize this: you've caused a great deal of damage in the past few days. If you really have adopted this much more open hearted personality you show right now, I'd like you to use it to feel actual remorse over what happened and maybe even try to undo a part of that damage. This sudden outburst of compassion of yours might be your only chance to set at least part of what happened right."

"…But I…"

"Here."

Before I knew it, Edgeworth had thrown something at me. I caught it and identified it as a card. A moment later, I realized that it seemed to be a ticket of some kind. I took a look at it. _'Doubted Sentence'_, the writing on it read, and the picture showed several musicians, surrounded by flashy effects… Maya was among them.

"This is a backstage pass for a concert at Sunshine Coliseum tonight. 'MAYOI' will be singing there, as well as one other band." He told me. "Maya gave it to me, but I have absolutely no time to go see it. I am investigating on a few of the older, more curious cases right now. I thought it might be useful to you."

"…Useful?"

"As I said, I noticed that you seem to be in the impression that Maya was someone you are close to, so I think you should talk to her if you want to find out more about what happened."

I looked up: "But Maya is gonna tear me to shreds if I dare go anywhere near her, isn't she?"

"With this pass, you can get near Maya Fey in a safe environment where she isn't allowed to carry any weapons which she could use against you. You should know that the security around there is rather tight. It's there to prevent any kind of violence, including hooliganism, attempts at her life, robbery, suicide…"

"I doubt that they can take her chords for shouting or hands for strangling from her."

"See it like this: you can either talk to her and find out why exactly she is now keen on seeing your grave being shoveled… or you can stay as clueless as you are now for the rest of your life."

Admittedly, the latter option wasn't too attractive either…

"Why don't you just tell me what happened?" I asked.

Edgeworth looked at his files again. "I am a Defense Attorney for those innocently charged of crimes, not your investigation partner or, least of all, your babysitter. You have to put some effort into it."

_(But there is NO difference between hearing it from you and hearing it from Maya, right?... Oh, right, Maya is gonna try to annihilate me as soon as I ask her. THAT'S a difference!)_

"Hmpf… Ouch!"

In the middle of my thoughts, my head started to hurt again all of a sudden. I quickly touched the back of my head and felt bandages warped around it. I wondered where they came from for a short moment before I realized that Edgeworth had mentioned my head hitting a rock while explaining why I passed out. A thought then crossed my mind.

"Hold it…If I collapsed down at the stand, how did I get up here? Did you-"

"As I mentioned before, I called the ambulance." Edgeworth interrupted me, probably in order to prevent me from using the word "carrying" in this relation. "You were taken to the local hospital, examined, and, since I couldn't just search for your briefcase for your apartment's key card, I brought you here. Despite hitting your head on a rock upon landing on the ground, you stayed uninjured save a small bruise. But you should be used to those yet, right?"

"Oh." Was my answer as I touched the bandages around my head once again.

"You'll be able to take them off tomorrow morning." Edgeworth claimed "That's what the doctor told me."

I now could feel the bruise, but the pain was not even worth being mentioned. Actually, the headache was already wearing off. Apparently, I got off 'lucky' once again… Well, with my very own brand of 'luck', of course.

"Wait… I was examined and then brought up here, you say…?" Something had suddenly come to my mind "How long have I been out cold anyway?"

Edgeworth took a quick look at his watch. "About two hours. It's 16:30 now."

"What?" Hearing the time, I finally jumped up from the sofa: "That late? That means it's just half an hour till 5 o' clock…"

"Well, obviously."

I still wondered why the time '5 o' clock' was causing my alarm bells to ring, when I suddenly remembered something.

"Right… Ema's waiting…"

Edgeworth looked up from the files again, an interested look in his eyes:

"Ema…?"

"Uhm… Another Prosecutor's younger sister." I quickly told him, hoping for this information to still be correct. As the things were right now, I couldn't really tell. "She's a friend of mine." _(I hope.)_

"Oh… You're talking about the younger Skye sister, aren't you?"

_(Alright, at least this is still right…)_

"Yes. She wanted to meet me at my apartment at 17:00."

"Well, you better get going then."

"Yeah…. Uhm… about that… heh heh…"

I started laughing nervously.

"You know Edgeworth…" Without actually wanting to do it, I had already started to rub the back of my neck with my hand. "I… this'll probably sound a little weird… well… I kinda lack a-"

"A driver's license, yes, I know."

Edgeworth said in a rather emotionless voice:

"You fell through the practical exam three times in row, from what I heard."

_(…I did?)_

I sweated knowing that I definitely preferred the 'universe' where I didn't own a license because I was too lazy to take the test rather than too incompetent to pass it.

"You know, Edgeworth, with the public means of transport I'll never make it back in time… _(Not to mention the fact that I've completely forgotten where that place was already…) _so… it'd be really great of you… If you… well… if you'd help me out…"

Edgeworth had already focused on his files again, so he was only watching me from the corners of his eyes, which made him look kind of intimidating, at least to me.

"I told you, I am busy and not your babysitter."

"But I'm gonna be late…"

"Use a Taxi."

"But those are expensive…"

"Says the man with an income several classes better than mine."

_(Darn it.)_

"I don't trust Taxi drivers! They're… uhm… kinda shady figures…"

"Why do I get the feeling that you actually managed to forget where you live?"

Silence was what followed this statement. A silence which probably said more than all the meaningless babbling I had cooked up in the past forty seconds combined.

Finally, I heard him sigh. He put down the papers in his hands and stood up:

"Well, I guess if I want some peace here anytime soon, I'll have no other choice but to bring you home."

"…Huh?"

Rather surprised by this reaction I just stood there and followed him with my eyes, as he cleaned up his desk within a few seconds, he picked up his keys and briefcase and headed towards the exit. He then turned towards me.

"Can we go?"

Baffled, I stared at him for a few moments.

"…You are not going to ask me how I could possibly forget my own-?"

"Like I said before, I'm not asking you anything. Including this."

"…"

"Come. I don't have all day, you know?"

Without losing any further words, I just followed Edgeworth outside.

Upon boarding the car waiting outside, the first thing I noticed was how different it looked from the pretentious, red sports car he 'usually' drove. Though far from looking shabby, this car was just so… plain.

Too many things were different all of a sudden. The amount of money me and Edgeworth earn were just the icing on the cake here. There were so many more factors which were probably influencing everyone's personalities which caused them to differ from what I remember about them in certain ways…

So many differences… I was a Prosecutor, Edgeworth a Defense Attorney… several things apparently never happened. Dahlia 'Hawthorne' was a Fey. Mia was alive. Maya was a songstress… How could this all happen overnight? Absentminded, I started playing with the Magatama in my pocket…

…The Magatama.

Suddenly, it struck me… I shouldn't have it.

If every evidence that Maya and me ever had any kind of friendly relationship at all was gone… no photos… no nickname-calling… no nothing… how come I still had this with me?  
I quickly pulled it out and started examining it as closely as I could. The same gem, the same shape, the same green glow, caused by Pearl Fey's spiritual energy…

"You're blocking the rear-view mirror." Edgeworth told me all of a sudden from the driver's seat and I noticed that I was holding my hand with the Magatama probably a little too high. I lowered it.

"Excuse me." I said.

_(…Come to think… Why am I riding in the back seat anyway?)_

My thought had just finished when Edgeworth spoke once again.

"That thing in your hand… it's one of the gems the Fey women wear, isn't it?"

Surprised by the question, I put the Magatama back into my pocket and nodded:

"Y-Yes."

True to his statement not to ask any question about my 'weirdness', Edgeworth fell silent again after this.

* * *

**May 1st, 17:08**

**Apartment Building**

The trip back to the building that I had left that morning took us a little more than half an hour. We had barely spoken in the meantime, mostly because I had struggled with the decision whether to tell him about what 'I was like' at the moment or not. I had finally decided not to do it. Even if there was some kind of friendship between him and the Fey family now, Edgeworth had always been a rather rational person. I was pretty sure that he wouldn't just accept it if I stepped up to him saying, "Hey, I think that this is parallel reality or something, because I'm a Defense Attorney, actually, and you're a snobbish Prosecutor!"

Also, he had no reason to trust me at all right now. For now, I'd have to wait for what I could gather from talking to Ema Skye. And after that, I'd try to get some information out of Maya… Actually, I should even be able to meet Mia and Dahlia. Sure, they'd probably be far from happy to see me, but it was worth a try. And there was also Iris… I had no idea whether it would be a good idea to go and try talk to her. After all, she apparently had just broken up with me. Still, she was another source of information which I just had to consider. I needed everything I could get if I wanted to have even a hint of a chance to get out of this mess.

"…Ouch!"

It was just a few seconds after we had left the car, that I felt a small, hard object hitting me behind my ear. Surprised, I turned around.

A pair of small boys, surely not older than 12 with slingshots stood on the sidewalk, glaring at me in a rather unsettling way. The second one was already 'reloading' his 'weapon'. I gulped.

"W-What's their problem…?"

"Judged by their shirts, they must be 'MAYOI' fans."

I turned towards Edgeworth, who had said this.

"And? Did Maya openly ask her fans to attack me in public or something?...Ouch!"

The second boy's hot had hit me and the first one was already getting ready his next 'bullet'. I was trying to hide behind Edgeworth, but he just stepped out of the way, leaving me defenseless when the next two pieces of ammunition hit me.

While I was still trying to dodge the children's shots, Edgeworth told me:

"I guess they're blaming you for the fact that she stopped performing that one song."

"…That… one… song…? Argh!"

I couldn't take those trigger-happy kids anymore and just ran around the corner, waiting for Edgeworth to follow me, which he soon did. Finally free of the two boys and their slingshots, we continued our way towards the building's door. Edgeworth then answered the question I had asked him.

"In the guise of 'MAYOI', Maya Fey has a lot of popular songs, but the one she's most famous for is certainly '_180°C_'."

"That's… a weird name for a song." I replied.

"Probably, but she had her reasons for naming it that." Edgeworth replied. "The song tells a story: A girl finds herself alone in a wasteland, devoid of all her hope. Over the course of the song, against all odds, she builds up more and more confidence and finally ascends to the top of a mountain."

"Sounds like a nice story… but what has this all to do with me or that trial? _(Or with the song title, for that matter? ...)_"

When I asked this, Edgeworth turned his head towards me:

"You see Wright… The girl in the song is being led by something… A _'bird of dragon fire'._"

"A bird of… dragon… fire… Ah…!"

_(I get it… the 'bird of fire'. That song is referring to the…)_

"You see now why she doesn't want to hear or sing it right now?"

"She actually prevents the song from being played because of this? B-But it's just my name! And not like I had chosen it for myself or anything…"

"If someone close to you was murdered in a cinema, would you go to see any movies anytime soon afterwards?"

"…Probably not."

"I thought so."

"B-But Mia isn't dead-"

_(Which, by the way, is still a weird thought.)_

"A life sentence isn't pretty either."

"…"

_(So not only am I a giant jerk and have just recently broken the hearts of a whole family of good friends of mine, now I'm also universally hated by the fanbase of a famous pop idol. Oh, how much I love my life…)_

We entered the building and were standing in the hallway now. I stepped up to the elevator, pushed the button waited for the door to open, stepped in and…

I was just about to turn around and bid Edgeworth 'goodbye', when I saw him getting in.

"Uhm…"

Dumbstruck, I watched as he leaned against the wall inside, apparently waiting for me to press the "Up" button, which I didn't do because I was, like I just mentioned, dumbstruck.

"Something wrong?" Edgeworth asked me with crossed arms.

"What are you…?"

"I figured you might need help in finding your apartment. You didn't even remember the way back here after all."

"B-But…"

"Yes?"

"Edgeworth… this is an elevator."

"I know."

"And the apartment is on the 20th floor."

"So?"

"You sure you want to do this?"

"Has this elevator a history of randomly bursting into flames?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Then the answer is 'yes'."

"…"

"What are you waiting for, Wright?"

Edgeworth glared at me impatiently when I didn't budge an inch for a few more seconds, so I finally decided to just press the up button for the 20th floor and get it over with. It took me a few seconds afterwards to realize why exactly my dear friend wasn't curling up on the floor and bursting into tears right now.

_(Oh... right. If DL-6 never happened… Edgeworth has absolutely no reason to be afraid of earthquakes or elevators...)_

I watched him calmly standing there, arms crossed and eyes looking at the wall on the opposite side. As the floors passed by behind the elevator's glass door. No people boarded the elevator on the way, so it was quiet all time along.

_(I guess it's true then…) _I thought. _(The reason Edgeworth is a Defense Attorney now… is because DL-6 was somehow erased out of history. He was never traumatized and orphaned, never under the impression he might be responsible for his own father's death, never came under Manfred von Karma's influence… This is the only explanation for him being the way he is now and for Maya's mother being alive and… well... I just wonder how exactly I ended up as a Prosecutor then. What happened?)_

16th floor… Four more and we'd be at this unfamiliar place which was, according to this universe's opinion, my apartment. I returned back to the question I had already asked myself at the noodle stand and before in the car: Should I just tell him, what exactly was 'wrong' with me? After all, he was an old friend. And seeing how had already played with the idea of me having amnesia, there was a good chance he'd believe me… In the end, however, I again decided not to do it. Even with Maya hating me like this, I still had the feeling that I'd rather ask her something like this than him… At least she wouldn't declare me crazy if I did.

The elevator reached its goal. Much to my embarrassment, despite having been here this morning, I actually couldn't remember which way to go. I guess I had been too excited when I first was here to actually perceive where I was going. I let Edgeworth take the lead who registered that he had been right about my recollection of the way to the apartment with a short nod and proceeded to lead me there. On the way, something caught my eye.

It was the girl I had met here the same morning, except that she was now eating crackers of some kind from a bag in her hands. She was entering an apartment door and closing it behind her.

_(OK, apparently this girl lives here.) _ I thought. _(…I guess she knows me. We're neighbors after all. She probably reacted the way she did when I tried to help her up because "I" am not usually that nice… Brr. That 'other' Phoenix Wright… I don't think that I'd ever want to meet him, even if it was physically possible…) _

"So… this should be it, if I remember right."

Edgeworth's voice caused me to leave my eyes of the door the girl went through and look at the door before me instead. It didn't look much different, except that it was, of course, closer.

Using the keycard I had found in my suitcase before, I unlocked the door and placed my hand on the knob:

"Well… thank you for driving me here, Edgeworth."

"You're welcome."

I opened the door.

I had actually wanted to step inside, turn around and tell Edgeworth goodbye now, but it came different. The image which greeted both of us as soon as I had opened the door just didn't allow me to do this.

The place was a mess. The carpets were ripped, the sofa was tipped over, the shelves were half emptied, their contents were all over the floor…

And sitting against the wall, head sunk, her white coat stained by what appeared to be her own blood, was a young girl with brown hair…

"E-EMA!"

For a moment, I was frozen.

That image… that pose… it was almost the exact same as back then… When I found Mia's body-

… No. There was a difference. A huge one. A stab wound, right in her chest…

Edgeworth and I rushed inside, with me sitting down on the floor before Ema right away and Edgeworth getting out his phone and dialing a number.

I took Ema's hand as soon as I could reach it. It was still warm and she had a pulse… She wasn't dead yet.

"Ema!" I shouted "Can you hear me? Please wake up!"

I quickly opened my suitcase beside me and got out a band aid I carried around just in case I might need it. I had to stop the bleeding… Of course, it was useless and I knew it. All the blood on her clothes… there was even a puddle on the floor. She had already lost so much of it… How long had she been sitting here like that? Fifteen minutes? Half an hour?

_(Had I just come sooner… Why did I have to faint?)_

"Ungh… Ehh…"

"Ema?"

I saw Ema trying to raise her head. She opened her eyes a little bit.

"P-Ph-Phoenix… I-I'm so… s-sorry… th-they took… it…"

"Took? Took what?"

I finally noticed that I couldn't see Ema's handbag anywhere… Did they rob her?

"Who did this to you?"

"The… black… hair…"

"..What?"

"Hngh…"

"Ema, don't move! You'll lose even more blood if you do!"

_(…What the heck am I saying? I have to calm her down! I'm only making it worse like this!)_

"Ungh… c-cold…"

My heart was racing. The bleeding just wouldn't stop and Ema…

"Please, hold in there, Ema!"

"Uhn…"

This was the last sound I heard her make before her eyes fell shut and her body slipped away from the wall sideways. She hit the floor, not budging a single inch more.

"Ema!"

She wouldn't answer. She wasn't breathing. I tried to feel for a pulse…

"…"

"I called the ambulance." Edgeworth's voice told me from behind. "They should be here in a few minutes."

I didn't turn around, but lowered my head and closed my eyes.

"I think there's no need for that anymore… She's dead."

"…I think that we will need the help of a medical team anyway."

"Huh?"

I looked up again, as I heard Edgeworth say.

"Phoenix… The bathroom."

The tone in his voice alarmed me. I stood up and ran towards the white door on the other side of the room. It was open… Edgeworth had probably gone in there in order to make his calls as undistracted as possible. I went inside…

…and found someone lying on the floor.

I gulped as I let my eyes wander quickly across the person. She had a rope around her neck which was ripped on the end… What appeared to be the rest of this rope was hanging down from the shower's curtain-rod, which was ridiculously high up…

The woman was Lana Skye. Ema's older sister.

"Do you think she tried to…?"

I looked at the rope around her neck and the one on the rod above our heads.

Edgeworth answered. "At least that's what it looks like… Hm?"

"What is it?" I turned towards him.

"There…" Edgeworth pointed down at the floor. "There's an envelope beside her."

"An envelope…?"

Now I saw it too. Carefully, I bent down and picked it up from the ground and opened it. Inside was a letter… Written with a typing machine…

_I have decided to put an end to both our miseries here and now._

_Now neither of us will have to live with the shame and pain._

_Let us meet again, my sweet sister._

_And please, forgive me._

_Lana Skye._

_

* * *

_

_Alright, guys, there we have it! Our first crime! XD_

_To make one thing clear right away, I am not an Ema Skye hater. I just made her the victim because it was convenient for the plot in several ways. _

_From now on, everything is getting a little more complicated for me... Trials have to make sense after all... -.-;_

_I'm having some fun with the fact that Phoenix Wright doesn't own a driver's license. I just always found this kinda funny. (even though I don't have one myself yet... ^^;) _


	5. First Investigations

_I have decided to put an end to both our miseries here and now._

_Now, neither of us will have to live with the shame and pain._

_Let us meet again, my sweet sister._

_And please, forgive me._

_Lana Skye._

_(No… She wouldn't have done that. Never.)_

"She's just unconscious. I think she should wake up soon." Edgeworth, who was now sitting beside her, told me. He turned around, looking at me. "What does the letter say?"

I hesitated to answer.

"…It looks like… a suicide note."

I handed the note over to Edgeworth, who went on to study it closely right away.

"She didn't do it." I stated nervously, as he was still reading. "She couldn't have…"

"Investigations will show…"

He folded the note and put it away: "Is it alright if I keep this as evidence?"

"Are you going to defend her?" I asked, a little glad that I actually remembered what his occupation now was.

"With the crime scene being the way it is now, she will be named the prime suspect for sure. But you are right… Seeing this place in this state, I too doubt that it was actually her."

"In this state…? You mean there are contradictions here?"

Edgeworth nodded and took a look at the rope around the curtain-rod again.

I frowned… Contradictions… Had I spotted any yet?

_(Well… actually… Yes, if I think about it, there are quite a few.)_

"Once she wakes up, I will offer to defend her in court. All I can do now is investigate and hope she will take my offer… if not, I will just hand the results of my investigations over to the Defense Attorney of her choice. Simple."

"I doubt she would turn you down. You are good." I stated honestly, remembering his work in Iris's trial a few months back.

"Thank you."

This was the moment when I heard steps. Surprised, I listened and remembered that neither I nor Edgeworth had closed the door when we came in… which meant that anybody could just walk in here right now. So this could be anybody: a clueless neighbor, a thief or… the murderer maybe? I gulped and turned towards the door to the living room, carefully peeking before walking to through it…

My worries had been needless. Instead of criminals, I found a rather familiar sight: that of a crime scene under investigation. 4 or 5 policemen were examining the room closely, looking behind every piece of furniture and examining the victim's body. And the one who was leading them was the most familiar of them all. I approached this person quickly and called his name.

"Detective Gumshoe!"

"Hm?"

He was facing a policeman who had been taking a look at Ema a moment ago, probably now telling Gumshoe that she was already dead, so he didn't notice me right when I entered the room. Only when he heard me calling him, it was that he finally turned towards me. His eyes widened right when he saw me.

"Mr. Wright, Sir! You're already here?"

_(He called me 'Sir'…) _I thought _(I don't know whether to like or hate this.)_

Gumshoe then suddenly saluted. I felt a little uneasy when I saw him doing that. I was so used to this detective being as informal as you can get, it was just strange to see him act this way towards me. I tried hard to appear cool though, but I'm not sure how well I managed to do this. Anyway, I looked away from him.

"Yes. This is… kinda my apartment…"

"Yours?" I couldn't see Gumshoe's eyes, since I was, like I said, not looking into his direction, but his voice alone made it obvious that this statement excited him. "So you witnessed the murder?"

"No…" I explained as calmly as possible, slowly turning my head back towards him. "I only arrived here myself a few minutes ago. Edgeworth and I found the body…"

That was when a question occurred to me…

"Hold it- how did you guys get here so fast anyway?"

I had remembered that Edgeworth had made the call less than 5 minutes ago. It was actually impossible that the police had come up here this fast.

Gumshoe put his hands into his trench coat's pockets and, eyes to the floor, explained.

"Well, we got a call from a young woman, who claimed she heard screams up here and when we arrived, we found the door wide open. We were prepared for robbers and the like, but this… Poor girl." He then turned his head back towards me. "Wait a sec, did you just say that Mr. Edgeworth was with you when you found the body, sir?"

"Well…"

I didn't get to say much more, since Gumshoe's eyes suddenly left me and he raised his hand up, waving.

"Oh! Hi there, Mr. Edgeworth!"

I suddenly had the strange feeling of being watched from behind and turned around. Of course, Edgeworth was right there. He apparently had entered the room just a few moments ago.

"The police are already here?" he asked me with a hint of surprise.

I nodded. "Apparently, someone else beat you to reporting the murder."

"Someone else… So there is a witness?"

"Uhm… I don't know…" I turned towards Gumshoe "Is there a witness?"

"I don't think so…" he answered, yet he sounded rather unsure when he did. "The woman who called reported unusually loud screams in this room… She never mentioned a murder, so I guess she didn't see anything."

"But she heard the screams…" I thought aloud, tapping my chin with my finger "If we just knew who she was, we could ask for a few more details…"

Gumshoe started rubbing his back and appeared to be thinking about something. "Well, we could trace back the call. This way, we'd be able to figure out who made it…"

I looked up in surprise and turned towards Gumshoe. "You could actually do that for me? Just like that?"

"Well, that's… kind of my job, you know, sir?" Gumshoe shrugged and laughed a little bit.

Something inside my mind suddenly told me that my reaction just now had been inappropriate, so I thought hard and realized that, of course, Gumshoe had no reason to _not _help me right now. I was, no matter how much I despised the thought, a prosecutor. So helping me wouldn't cause him additional salary cuts, if anything he'd get a raise. In theory, of course, since I doubted that he'd ever do a good enough job to justify such a raise.

…On the other hand, I had always felt a little bad for him and his pasta-only diet… And since I was his superior right now…

_(Hm… Maybe I should…)_

"What are you thinking about, Sir?"

I jerked.

_( Argh! 'Pal'! You are supposed to say 'Pal!') _

The 'Sir' just felt so… Out of place.

Would I ever get used to that? …No, probably not.

"I was just wondering… Did you guys find anything out yet?" I finally asked.

Gumshoe looked a little uneasy. "Uhm, well, you arrived here long before we did, so you probably know more than we do…"

"Oh, right…"

"However…" Gumshoe suddenly grinned. "We found this under the girl's lab coat!"

_(…"This"?)_

Wondering what Gumshoe meant, I waited for him to hand me the object which he was talking about… It was a piece of paper.

'_Lana' _it read in big, red letters.

I gulped.

"I think this should make the case easy!" Gumshoe smiled. "Don't you love it when the criminals overlook something like this and leave it in plain sight? Ha Ha Ha!"

_(No… Not that again!)_

I felt the strong and almost irresistible urge to just rip this piece of paper apart. Right now and in so many tiny pieces that nobody would ever again be able to reconstruct it.

"You look nervous, Wright." Edgeworth told me. "Is there something about this piece of evidence?"

"Grr…The old '_The victim wrote their killer's name with their own blood'_ –trick..." I thought aloud and sighed, wrinkling my forehead "I have seen this kind of 'evidence' so often now, it's not even funny anymore…"

"So you think it's a fake?"

"Fake? Hah. There's a better word for this kind of evidence-"

I stopped here. The weird thing was… I didn't even know why.

But for a short moment there, I felt like my world was standing still. I could even feel the next of my own heartbeats very clearly, very slowly…

And suddenly, I knew what was going on… or at least understood it a little bit.

Something… something was ringing a bell here…

I didn't know what it was. I didn't know how it was… But I know that something that was said just now was supposed to remind me of something…

_(…Why is this …?)_

"Uhm… Mr. Wright?"

I jerked when I heard my last name, returning to reality and quickly shaking my head. After registering that it had been Gumshoe who spoke to me, I turned towards him and Edgeworth, with the later crossing his arms and telling me:

"Are you planning on passing out a few more times today?"

"Did I pass out?"

"For a moment, it looked like you did."

"…"

_(…I wouldn't call this 'Pass out' as much as 'Enter Far Away-mode', but… well…)_

"Wow, Sir, you and Mr. Edgeworth are sure on casual terms today!" Gumshoe, much to my surprise, suddenly stated, chuckling a little. "I wouldn't have thought that so soon after that one trial."

When Gumshoe mentioned this, Edgeworth looked away. It needed no master of body language to understand that he obviously felt uneasy being reminded of the 'fact' that I was the person who made him lose two innocent clients.

I was still feeling bad for him, but there really wasn't anything I could do about this now. Also, we had worse problems at the moment.

"Gumshoe." I started, facing the detective. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Everything you want, Sir."

"Then get rid of this for me, please."

I handed him the bloody note, which caused his eyes to widen in surprise: "Get… rid of it, Sir?"

"And make sure that nobody finds it. Ever."

"Wright!"

Edgeworth's disagreeing voice. One of the few familiar sounds I did _not _want to hear right now.

I turned around. "What?"

"You are aware that destroying evidence is just as bad as forging it, aren't you? Prosecutor or not, there is no excuse for ordering something like this!"

He was moving his pointing finger up and down again…

"But this note is clearly a fake!" I defended myself. "Using this in court would only make it harder to find the true killer!"

"Wrong." Edgeworth shook his head. "The truth can only be found by taking a close look at every single detail you can find. No matter if the criminal placed it intentionally or left it behind by accident, every single trace he or she left in here can help us to get close to the truth."

I got a little angry, hearing him talk like this about this piece of 'evidence'.

"But I almost lost cases because of this kind of fake message!" I exclaimed, not really thinking what I was saying.

"Me too." Edgeworth replied calmly. "But this, too, is a vital part in discovering the truth in the end. Every time."

"We have a three day court system!" I said. "Every second counts for an innocent defendant, you know?"

"You didn't seem to mind this on the third day of the Fey cousins' Trial."

I jerked. Mia and Dahlia…

"Holding back evidence… of course I knew that there are Prosecutors who do this, but…"

Edgeworth turned his head away. I could hear him making a disappointed sound. The next thing I heard was Gumshoe's voice:

"Mr. Wright, Sir…" I turned towards him, as he seemed a little nervous. "Should I really do this…? I mean, sure, if you tell me too, but… It doesn't seem, you know… very right and…"

I sighed. "Never mind… Forget what I said. Register it as… evidence."

I clenched my teeth. The last thing I wanted was having even more evidence against Lana. On the other hand, Edgeworth was right with what he was saying…

"Oh… OK."

Gumshoe seemed very relieved after I said that. I, on the other hand, still felt unsettled, for several reasons. One of them was the fact that I had to be aware that I had actual 'command' over Gumshoe right now, as well all the other policemen investigating. The other was, of course, the thought that an alleged victim-note would once again be evidence in court. I hated those notes with all passion. This kind of note almost got Maya guilty in court. Twice. Same applied to poor Maggey Byrde, even though it only happened once to her. And then, there was Ema herself, of course… her name written on a jar in Neil Marshall's blood…

Trying to pin a murder on somebody else… If there was one thing worse than murderers, it was murderers cowardly enough to ruin yet another life to get away with it. I had to find out who did this to Ema, so I could give this person his or her well deserved payback… in court-

No- wait.

_(A Defense Attorney gets to choose who he can defend and who he can't… A Prosecutor, however…)_

"Detective, take a look at this!"

"What's this… A suicide note?"

"Yes. Apparently this woman has tried to hang herself! Look!"

"But she's alive… Did the rope rip?"

"Looks like it. Hm… judged by the note…"

"Guys, I think we have found our prime-suspect!"

_(…represents the state, its law and this law's enforcement.)_

Naturally, due to me already knowing all the necessary details, I was chosen to prosecute the case. Lana was, of course, named the prime suspect right away. The suicide note and her name in blood let the police jump to conclusions. Like always.

Of course, I knew that Lana Skye was innocent. If there was one thing I knew for sure about this woman, it was that she loved her sister above all else and would have done everything for her and her future. She wouldn't have been able to commit the murder, not even if her own life had been at stake. But try telling that to the police. All they are interested in is having a suspect to present to the court. A suspect and evidence against them as well, of course. Everything was about evidence in our court system… one of its defining flaws, in my opinion. The fact that Lana was the person most unlikely to harm Ema in any possible way in the whole world was null and void before the Law.

Because of all of this, I initially thought about refusing to take the case… until I realized that someone else would do it if I didn't. Someone who would be interested in getting a guilty verdict for his or her record. Someone, who is actually _good _at prosecuting.

The case would already be hard enough for the Defense to win as it was. Especially with this kind of Defendant…

Lana woke up just mere minutes afterwards, before the medical team even arrived. When she saw Ema… I can't describe the look that was on her face when she saw the dead body. 'Too horrified for words' doesn't come even close to it. In her eyes, it looked like everything she had ever believed in had shattered in that moment. That alone should have made it obvious that she wasn't the killer. But I guess I was the only one who saw it. She stared blankly into the air for about half an hour afterwards. And then, she confessed. In a voice devoid of any emotion whatsoever and stiff like a robot, she admitted every single detail.

Lana, why are doing this again? What are they pressing you with this time?

I wished that I could help her… but it wasn't in my power to defend her.

Just like he had promised, Edgeworth went up to her, finger on his badge, and asked if she would like him to defend her. Lana agreed. But as she did, she said something which made me feel like having Déjà vu…

"Defend me all you want, but don't be disappointed if the outcome is not to your liking, Mr. Edgeworth. I, for my part, am ready to accept my fate."

I then gave Edgeworth the permission to investigate the crime scene for as long as he wanted… his reaction to this was more reluctant than I had expected…

"You are aware that I am the Defense Attorney in this case and that every bit of information I gather is to your disadvantage?" he asked me with a look coming rather close to a glare on his face.

It made me nervous.

"Yes, sure, but…"

"Why are you being so obliging then?" He cut me short.

My reaction to this was a sigh. "Look, we both know that Lana Skye is innocent, so why don't you just go ahead and gather proof, that she's-"

"Wrong."

"…What?"

Edgeworth's one word answer caught me off guard and almost threw me out of balance.

"_I _know that Lana Skye is innocent and am representing this opinion in court. _You _are supposed to represent the opinion that she is _guilty._ "

"You don't want me to get a guilty verdict for her, do you?"

"No, I want you to at least put some effort into trying to prove her guilt, so I can find all holes in your assumption and use them as a gateway to the truth."

Edgeworth's voice stayed so calm all the time, it was almost frightening.

"You're starting to freak me out with your 'truth'." I told him in all honesty. "Could you tone it down?"

"I am just telling you how I think a trial should be conducted." He replied. "And it doesn't work when there's no Prosecutor."

"I will be there. I'll just not… do the job very well…"

"Then there might just as well be no Prosecutor at all."

"…"

"Wright, I know that prosecuting against your mentor surely isn't an easy thing to do for you…"

_(…my… mentor?)_

I listened up, but refrained from voicing my thoughts again, like I had done in our previous conversation.

Lana Skye… my mentor? …Yes, this made sense. After all, she was very similar too Mia in a lot of aspects. I would have surely chosen a woman like her for a mentor if I had the choice…

"…but there's no place for your personal feelings in the courtroom. I know I am repeating myself, but the only thing that should matter in a trial is the absolute truth."

I didn't know what to answer to that, so I remained silent.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have investigations to do… And I think you do too."

Investigations…

This was my first time investigating with the aid of a police team, rather than having a police team as an obstacle during my investigations. The differences were… surprisingly minor. I was downright baffled by how much those guys seemed to rush every little thing they did. Apparently the fact that they had already found a prime suspect in Lana was causing them to not take the remaining investigations serious at all. I actually had to keep them from slacking off a few times, even once catching them trading Steel Samurai cards right next to the victim's dead body. This seriously made me wonder what those guys learn in police training.

"Thank you, I will be taking this!"

"B-But Sir!"

Without even looking at them, I put the cards I had taken into my pocket.

_(Wow, I just confiscated property from a member of the police force… I mean… No, just 'wow'.)_

I then went on to berate the card-traders about their behavior, which, by the way, was a weird feeling. I'd have never thought I'd ever find myself bossing policemen around. Berating Maya, OK, but policemen? A certain shiver went down my spine every time I did it. I simply wasn't used to giving out commands like this and for some reason didn't really enjoy it at all. Maybe the responsibility connected to this made me feel uneasy? Still, I had to do it. Edgeworth was right after all, every piece of evidence could prove to be vital in the end.

I didn't know if Edgeworth himself found anything that the police or I had missed, but among all the pieces of evidence I added to the court record while searching the room with their aid, there were three which stayed especially well on my mind right away.

One was a bag of treats, half eaten, which was found on the floor, near Ema. The writing on it said "Snackoos"… Well, that was all I could understand. The rest was in a foreign language. I was eventually informed that it was German.

"Oh, I know those, Sir!" One of the policemen told me. "A friend once brought some from a Europe trip. I think they are gonna produce them over here too soon… but for now, the only way to get your hands on those is to import them!"

I was pretty sure that they must belong to Ema. I wasn't that big a fan of this kind of snack, so I was rather sure that I didn't import them myself, and I knew for a fact that Ema and Lana had friends in Europe. It would have been easy for Ema to get her hands on a few backs of those treats, especially if she sent a photo of that puppy-dog look of hers along with her last letter to those friends.

The second thing which I noticed was… a dart. Just a dart.

There were faint traces on blood on its needle, but I didn't quite know what this meant. Sure, maybe the killer used it to put Ema into narcosis, but why was the place as messed up like this then? If he had the chance to shoot her with a narcotic dart, there should have been no struggle. Also, I found the dart next to the sofa, many feet away from Ema's body. This dart… I would have to think about it later.

The third thing was the rope with which Lana had supposedly tried to kill herself. What about it struck me as weird? I had no idea. I just took a look at it and found it to be odd… But I couldn't quite tell why. Just like with the dart, I decided to concentrate on this later.

"Good news, Sir! We managed to find the witness!" Gumshoe eventually told me some time during the investigations.

My eyes left the rope that I had just been examining, and I turned towards him:

"And? Who is it?"

"A high school student, a girl by the name Susan Alia. She reported the incident to us using a cellphone."

"A high school student? An hour ago, you still claimed the call had been made by a young woman!"

Gumshoe then started laughing a little nervously. "Well, on the phone, she sounded like a young woman… "

"Alright, alright…" I sighed. "When can I question her about the murder?"

"We called her back a few minutes ago. Apparently, she lives in one of the other apartments on this floor. You'll be able to meet her tomorrow morning!"

"Tomorrow morning?" I replied a little too loud.

"Yes, she agreed to meet with you around 7:00am."

I knew for a fact that the trial would be held the next day at 10:00, which would leave me with three hours to question that woman, find out exactly how I could use her testimony in court and how it connected to the evidence. Also, I wasn't exactly a morning person and questioning her that early in the morning would surely end up being a torture…

Why was it that I always ended up with almost no prep time at all?

"Don't look at me like that, Sir, I know that it's rather late…" Gumshoe told me, looking a little uneasy. "But we couldn't get her to meet up with you any sooner. Apparently, she left the building right after reporting the murder to meet up with a friend of hers. They are currently at a concert and she refused loud and aggressively when we asked her to leave and come back here. You know, teenagers…"

"A concert?"

"At Sunshine Coliseum. Started 20 minutes ago. A rock band and a young pop singer are performing, I think."

_(Oh yes, now I remember. He must be talking about the concert for which Edgeworth gave me that ticket. He said that Maya and one other band were there… Hm, I wonder…)_

So it had just started… I had never been to a concert before, but I still knew enough to know that this event would go on at least till 10 o' clock. After all, another band was playing there as well, right? So there was still enough time to go and see it…

But before that… There was someone I just had to see before the trial tomorrow. Just once, just in case…

"Gumshoe…" I hesitated to ask.

"Yes, Sir?" with a ready smile he waited for me to end the question.

I gnawed my lip a little bit:

"Mia Fey and her cousin are still being held at the local Detention Center… right?"

"Uhm… yes, as far as I know, they are." He nodded a little confused. "You want to go see them? You know, not that I'm stopping you, but why would you want to do that? The case is over…"

"I need to ask Mia Fey a few questions. And since I'm done with investigating here for today anyway, I figured I might do it now. The sooner, the better."

"So, you're leaving now?" Gumshoe looked rather surprised when he heard that. "Alright, Sir, but what about Mr. Edgeworth? He's still doing his own investigations… Should we throw him out?"

"I'll leave him the keycard. I'm not planning on sleeping here tonight anyway." I stated in all honesty. Spending the night at a crime scene was seriously the last thing I wanted to do, especially not when I had access to enough money to rent myself a room in a four star hotel. I then handed the little plastic card over to Gumshoe and told him:

"Just give it to him. And you, uhm… keep investigating a little more. And help Edgeworth, if you feel like it."

"That's a… weird request you have there, Sir…" Gumshoe stated, seeming unsure whether to laugh or to be skeptic. "I mean isn't Mr. Edgeworth kind of… the 'foe'? Helping him... wouldn't be good for my wallet, would it?..."

_(I guess I am breaking his brain with this anti-routine input… Poor Gumshoe.)_

Finally, completing the decision I had started to settle myself on about an hour ago, I reached for my own wallet, took a quick look around me, pulled out five one hundred dollar bills and held them right under Gumshoe's nose.

"Whatever you buy with this…" I whispered. "_…please _make sure it has _nothing_ to do with noodles whatsoever."

"S-Sir…"

The detective was staring at the bills like they were a long lost sacred document chronicling the creation of the universe.

"I-I can't take that…"

"It's an order!"

I looked at him with my most determined look, just to drive the point home that, yes, this was indeed his money now. It took Gumshoe a few more seconds to make his expression go from 'astonishment' to 'sheer happiness'.

Finally, he took the money.

"Sir! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Sir, I am…"

"And _never ever_ call me 'Sir' again, alright?" I cut him short as quickly as I could.

I had decided that I would never, definitely _never,_ get used to being called that, and thus decided to end it while I still had the chance to.

_(Hm, should I ask him to call me… On second thought, no. That's taking it a little too far.)_

"Just 'Mr. Wright' is enough." I stated.

"M-Mr. Wright…"

"Exactly."

Gumshoe had big, wet puppy-dog eyes right now. I guess my gift was worth more than all of his last twenty paychecks combined. I then realized that this look was reminding me of someone… Finally I remembered who it was: Maggey Byrde.

_(Hm, I wonder if Gumshoe and Maggey are still… Maybe I should ask him about her later. Just 'cause.)_

Right now, however, I didn't want to lose any more time talking to Gumshoe. There was somewhere else I had to go, someone else I had to see…

…A Mia Fey who despised me from the bottom of her heart…

_(…Uhm… On second thought, this might not be such a great idea… *gulp*)_

_

* * *

_

_**Overview (Currently in Court Record)**:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge_

_*) Magatama_

_*) Photo of Iris_

_*) Cellphone_

_*) Concert Ticket_

_*) Suicide Note_

_*) Victim(?) Note_

_*) Steel Samurai Cards_

_*) Snackoos Bag_

_*) Dart_

_*) Rope_

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright_

_*) Miles Edgeworth_

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)_

_*) Mia Fey_

_*) Iris Fey_

_*) Dahlia Fey_

_*) Ema Skye_

_*) Lana Skye_

_*) Dick Gumshoe_

_

* * *

_

_I decided to add this Overview section, in order to make it easier for you readers to keep track of what Phoenix has in stock. I mean, I can barely keep track of it myself, so… XD_

_The Detention Center scene not-yet-brought to you by: "My Disability To Keep Things Short". _

_It was supposed to be part of this chapter, but eventually turned into 10 A4 pages worth of text… I'll have to shorten that, otherwise the fic's timeline will be a thing of impossibility._

_I listened to Gumshoe's theme, as well as "Search: Opening 2004" and "Search: Opening 2001" while I was writing this scene. (Not to the 2002 version. It makes me think of Ini Miney too much.) I think I can make the scenes a whole lot more authentic when I actually 'feel' the intended atmosphere while writing them. _

_Everybody, the real action starts here! Stay tuned! ;-)_


	6. Mentor and Protégé

**May 1st, 6:45pm**

**Detention Center**

It was already rather late, but I guess Prosecutors are always welcome at the Detention Center. Probably because they are the reason there was anybody occupying this Center in the first place. Nervously, I sat there at the table in front of this glass window, playing with my fingers. The guard in the room's corner was as unmoving as ever, the camera on the wall still pointing where it had always pointed to.

Despite sitting on the side of "Freedom", I felt like I was the hopeless defendant here. And every moment, a judge would come through this door over there and declare me guilty.

This 'judge' would be nobody else than Mia Fey. My mentor and friend, who always trusted me, encouraged me, aided me even after her death…

This was going to hurt. Badly.

_(…Argh! Since when am I biting nails? No, stop, stop, if I make that a habit now, I'll never get rid of it again! Ever! Uhf…Relax, Phoenix, it's just Mia… Ha. Ha. 'Just' Mia. Of course. There is no 'just' when it comes to Mia. And the fact that I still feel like I was her student up to that day will. Definitely. Not. Help. Somebody help me!)_

Finally, the door opened. I sat up straight, trying to appear as calm as possible. Led by a policeman, two women finally entered the room before my eyes.

A young woman with dark brown hair, and a muffler, wearing a black suit: Mia Fey.

An even younger woman with red hair, wearing a clean white dress and clenching to a parasol, which she carried in her arms: …Dahlia.

I gulped. As if Mia alone wouldn't be enough. But Dahlia too… I really hoped that I could take this…

It didn't take long, until Mia's eyes wandered towards the glass window and hit me. And I shrunk away. Just a little more, and I've been too small to look into the room before me. At least that's what it felt like.

As soon as Mia saw me and realized who I was, a certain expression appeared on her face… Not unlike that of Maya from the morning of that day… Except even harsher, even colder, and more serious. Mia's eyes were like… knives. And she was not merely piercing me with them. She was _slashing_ right through me.

I tried my best not to show how scared I was, but I just couldn't feign any coolness. Not in front of her. Especially not her.

So what if this Mia had no recollection of me ever learning under her? So what if this Mia probably never defended me as the loser in the pink sweater that I once was? This was still Mia. The woman I had always looked up too. And she was now looking down on me. Deep down. I was so low under her, I could just as well have been dirt on the floor… I guess that was also pretty much the worth of the esteem she held me in right now.

For a moment, it looked like she was just going to turn around and leave again, but she hesitated halfway in her turn and I soon realized why: because of Dahlia.

Dahlia was standing there, several meters away from the glass window, staring at me through it in an incredibly sad way. She looked heart wrenchingly miserable…

That parasol she held… this was the first time I saw her holding it closed. Yes, the very first time. And she was pressing it to her chest in fear, like it was a pillow. She looked frightened, fragile, insecure…

This was… Dahlia?

Then again, how much did I know of the real Dahlia…?

…I remembered that one day, in court, when she delivered her testimony.

'_Dolly will make it right, I can trust her, she loves me.' _I had kept telling myself. But even back then… deep inside… I had felt that this woman was a 'fraud'. Everything about her had been fake. Her smile, her voice, her laughter, all her soft words to me… At least on that one day.

I had felt that the girl in the witness stand wasn't the girl I had loved so much for months. I had felt it the whole time, but refused to admit it to myself, right till the very end…

…I can't remember what exactly had caused me to finally see the truth in the end, but, anyway, I eventually figured out that 'Dolly' and 'Dahlia' had been two separate persons all along. And I had been right with this. Since 'Dolly' eventually turned out to actually have been 'Iris'…

So now, there she was, this 'other' Dahlia, who carried the last name 'Fey'. She wasn't my 'Dolly' from back then either. And yet… she also wasn't the 'fraud'.

Her fear, her shaking, her timid movements… they were real. Nothing about her seemed 'fake'. Yes, I was absolutely sure, that she wasn't just faking it.

Dahlia Hawthorne, the coldhearted killer, whose dress had been stained by the blood of many and yet who never cried, except to get undeserved sympathy…

…But this Dahlia was different. This Dahlia before me here seemed… scared, weak and fragile…

In a way, she reminded me more of Iris than of Dahlia.

She kept staring at me, but never made any effort to approach the window. Probably, she just couldn't. Her legs were shaking a lot, I could see it clearly. She finally said something to Mia. I couldn't really hear it, since she was whispering, but Mia answered with a calm nod and finally approached me, while Dahlia herself went into the room's corner. I gulped.

Mia… Mia Fey…

Mia Fey, with her own brown hair. In her own clothes… Her own body, not Maya's, not Pearls'.

She sat down right in front of me. And started slashing me with her eyes right again:

"What do you want?" she asked with a voice so freezing cold, it could have probably frozen over hell itself. Apparently, it had already frozen my chords at the very least, since I found myself unable to answer. I couldn't even stutter.

Mia was growing more and more impatient.

"If you just came here in order to stare at me for an hour or two, Mr. Wry, I'd politely like to ask you to leave now, since I hate it when men do that. Especially your kind of man."

"U-Uhm… I… I mean…."

_(Well, at least the stuttering works now. Now on to forming complete sentences…)_

"...I came here, because… I… M-Mia!"

_(…Not a sentence…)_

Mia's eyes slanted when she heard me speak:

"Did I ask you to call me by my first name, Mr. Wry?"

"N-No…"

"Then don't do it. I haven't sunken that low yet."

Scared, I evaded her eyes for a few moments and instead looked at Dahlia in the corner behind her, who had sat down on a small chair. She was now starring at the ground, still hugging her parasol tightly. A little girl with a doll, out alone in the night, scared to death- That's what she looked like now.

Then I looked at Mia again, hoping that her eyes might have softened up even a tiny little bit in the meantime… My hopes were, however, crushed.

This wasn't getting any easier… and it hurt just as much as I had expected. Still, I had to somehow turn this into a normal, logical conversation…. I took two deep breaths, and finally said:

"Ms. Fey… I am not here to make fun of you or Dahlia in any way. And not to stare at you either… I… I came here because I wanted to ask you some questions and… because I need your advice."

"You? Need _my_ advice? Ha!" She turned her head away in a rather dynamic way. "If I remember right, you didn't care much for my opinion when it actually mattered, Mr. Wry."

"It's 'Wright'…" I said. "And, yes, you might be right about that but I… I…"

I looked up. "Miss Mia Fey, please listen to me! I now realize that I made a mistake and I'm going to do everything to correct it, I promise! I will get you and Dahlia out of here again, just give me some time!"

"Hm."

She looked at me with her eyes half closed, apparently not believing a word I said.

"Is that a change of heart I sense there? All of a sudden? Well, that would sure be convenient for your conscience, right? Too bad it's too late for that now. The verdict was already pronounced."

"But if there's decisive proof that you couldn't have done it, the verdict can still be revised! And I will find that proof! I will prove you innocent, I promise."

"Talking like a Defense Attorney now, are we?"

"…"

I tried to keep looking at her. Just keep looking at her. The moment I'd look away, Mia would think I wasn't serious about what I was saying and would just leave. I knew her well enough to be sure of that. Mia watched me for a few seconds, before she said:

"…You know, Mr. Wry, I trusted you. Not too long ago, I thought that, if it comes down to it, you'd make the right decision. But you didn't. You ended the trial as soon as you had a chance to do so. Killing Mr. Edgeworth's last statement mid-sentence with an objection, claiming that what he was saying was irrelevant, and urging the Judge to just pass his verdict quickly. You did absolutely everything I would have never thought you would do… And so you proved my judgment regarding you to have been horribly wrong. So, tell me, why should I trust you again?"

"Because I am the only one who can still help you two now."

Both of us fell silent for a few seconds after I had said this. I had no idea what Mia was thinking now. I just hoped that she'd believe me.

Finally, she raised her head a little bit.

"Ha…" she said. "…Mr. Wry. I know but one thing: If you really are our last hope, then we both are hopeless."

"I will get you out of here." I repeated, my hands trembling a little bit. "I swear it, Chief."

"…Chief?

I jerked when Mia's repetition of this word made me realize that I had actually said that last sentence out loud. I didn't actually mean to. It was then, while I was still startled, that Mia started to look at me closer. She even leaned forward, almost touching the glass. She stared right into my eyes, like she was scanning them for something, making me even more nervous, given that this was still possible, of course. The icy contempt in her eyes was slowly disappearing now, being gradually replaced by confusion. Finally, she opened her mouth again:

"…Who are you?..."

I didn't answer this question right away. I just had no idea how to do it… Then, finally, I made a decision… a risky one.

"Mia… Fey." I started after some time. "You come from a long line of Spirit Mediums… You know that there is more to this world than our eyes can see, right?"

As usual, I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with this, but I had a faint idea. And I hoped that it would help. Mia had to believe me… she just had to…

"This is right." Mia nodded. "I'm a member of a branch family of the Fey Clan, a line of women, with the ability to contact the spirits of those who have passed on."

_(A… branch family?)_

My eyes wandered to Dahlia again.

_(This means that the current head of the Fey Clan must be Morgan Fey… Making the twins the heirs for the Master title. They are older than Pearl after all… Oh, I see. That photo of me and Iris in Kurain… Iris must have been training to become a Spirit Medium.)_

"But what has this to do with anything?" Mia suddenly asked, causing me to look at her again.

Focusing my mind on what I was about to tell her again, I took a deep breath and started talking.

"Miss Fey… What if I told you… that I am not the one who did this to you?"

"You're… meaning to say that the Prosecutor during our trial was an imposter?"

"No… I mean that…"

This was crazy. And I knew it. How exactly was telling her this gonna help either of us? And why should she believe me? Just because she knew that supernatural phenomenon did indeed exist? Still… this was Mia. And if there was anyone I could talk to…

"I mean that…I am not the same Phoenix Wright who prosecuted in this trial."

Mia suddenly twitched out of her piercing look and a weird mixture of skepticism and confusion entered her face instead she hesitated a few seconds, before she finally asked.

"…How am I supposed to take this? There is only one Phoenix Wright. Especially with your face. Not to mention your hair."

_(Is my hair really my only defining trait…?)_

"Miss Fey… I know, this sounds weird and impossible… But I can't be the Prosecutor who got you declared guilty in court. I can't be him because…

A few seconds of hesitation more. I finally closed my eyes for a short time and answered.

"Because… as far as I remember, I was a Defense Attorney, right until I got up this morning."

"A… Defense Attorney?"

I couldn't read the expression on Mia's face, couldn't see if she was shocked, confused or just skeptic. Did she believe me, or was she already telling herself internally to just categorize me as 'Utterly and completely out of his mind'? I couldn't tell at all. But I decided to just go on. Turning back now was useless anyway:

"Yes." I confirmed my previous statement with a nod.

"And I am supposed to believe this?"

I had known that she would ask this. Every sane person would have asked this.

"I know… it is hard to believe. But… I promise you, I am not lying. I… I never prosecuted a case in my life. Up until yesterday, I was the head of my own small law firm. And you and your sister Maya were my mentor and my assistant respectively."

"Your mentor…?"

Mia initially reacted surprised to this last statement… then suddenly, she started laughing a little bit.

"I am sorry to tell you this, but this is entirely impossible."

She now looked a whole lot softer at me and supported her head with her hand, putting her elbow on the table. She looked rather relaxed that way.

"In order to be the mentor of a Defense Attorney, I'd have to be a Defense Attorney myself. But, as you should know, I am a Detective."

_(Detective…)_

"Exactly…"

"Excuse me?"

Mia looked up surprised when she saw my reaction. A little satisfied, I explained it to her.

"Listen to yourself Miss Fey… Had I really prosecuted your case… No, if I really knew you at all, wouldn't I know about your job then?"

"…"

Mia stared at me silently, as I continued to explain.

"Yet I am convinced that the 'You' who I remember was a Defense Attorney. A really good one at that. Miss Fey… isn't that proof that I have no idea what is going on here?"

_(Like I suspected, she is not an Attorney here.) _I continued by own train of thoughts _(The main reason why Mia became a Defense Attorney in the first place was researching whoever leaked the information about her mother to the press. But since DL-6 never happened… It's more than possible that something different happened in this case's stead, causing her to take on a different occupation instead… Apparently that of a Detective.)_

"…"

Looking at me dumbstruck for a few more moments, Mia finally started laughing again. "I have never seen anybody that satisfied about proving himself to be clueless!"

"Oh, but I am clueless. Very clueless in fact." I replied with my hands on my hips.

"You could just as well be faking it." Mia answered but she remained a whole lot more soft and relaxed that she had been before: "You will need something stronger than this to persuade me, that you are not the Prosecutor Phoenix Wright."

"Uhm… Something stronger than that?" I started sweating a little "But how am I supposed to prove something like that? I mean, I am still Phoenix Wright, just not, you know… quite the same… well…"

"Hm…" Mia seemed to be thinking about something. "You mentioned before that 'I' was your mentor?"

"Y-Yes…?"

"Then say something." She leaned back a bit. "Say something only somebody who studied under me would say or know."

_(Something only her protégé would say…) _I thought to myself _(Well… this should be easy.)_

I took a deep breath. "There are a lot of things I learned from you… but... if I had to choose the most important among them, it would probably be this:

I looked her in the eyes, trying to appear determined:

"In order to prove someone's innocence, you have to be ready to believe in them and trust them to the very end. In order to believe in somebody… you have to believe in yourself first. Mutual trust and trust in your own abilities… Those are the keys."

"Hm…"

Mia closed her eyes for a moment and smiled in a way that was very familiar to me.

"Nice. Very nice… Yes, this definitely sounds like something I would say… If I was a Defense Attorney, of course."

"So… You believe me?" I asked Mia and noticed, that my voice was still sounding extremely nervous.

"Well…" Mia kept smiling, much to my relief. "I _do_ believe that you are really not quite the same guy who sat in the Prosecution's bench a few days back. Whether to believe your Defense Attorney-story, however, I am not quite sure yet… You might just have hit your head on something."

She then eyed the bandages around my head, causing me to touch them and blush a bit. "Uhm, yes, I did, but I assure you, this has absolutely nothing to do with this! Eh Heh…"

"Heh Heh Heh…"

Mia replied to my laughing with her own laughing.

"That nervous, somewhat childish smile…" she paused to look at me. "And I already thought I wouldn't see this ever again."

Surprised by this statement, I sat up a little straighter.

"You… saw me smile like this before…?"

"Three years ago…Back then, in Kurain… The two of you were having lots of fun, right? 'Feenie'? Heheheh…" Mia answered, still laughing.

I blushed crimson red when I heard her say the nickname. Apparently she had seen me there with Iris.

_(So… about three years ago, I visited Kurain, and spent some time with Iris there. And Mia was apparently also present…)_

A few seconds later, Mia finally stopped laughing. She took a breath.

"That smile… I thought it had died. Just like hers."

"Whose?"

"Lana's."

Lana Skye's smile... Of course I knew what Mia was talking about. Even though my interaction to 'this' Lana had been rather limited yet, Mia's statement alone made me realize one thing.

DL-6 may have been erased out of history. But this doesn't mean that other wounds were 'healed' as well.

Apparently, SL-9 had still happened one way or another. This was the only reason why Mia would mention Lana's smile 'dying' now.

"Let's assume, and I mean, just assume that you are really convinced of this 'Defense Attorney' story you just told me …

_(…She doesn't believe me after all…)_

"…I guess I can see how you would come up with me being your 'Mentor'. After all… People always told Lana and me that we were quite similar. We were in the same Law-School, you know?"

I nodded. And was glad that there was at least _something _about Mia's history that was still like how I remembered it.

Apparently remembering something, Mia grinned.

"You know, to be honest, this is a little bit funny. Back then in Law School, I actually played with the thought of becoming a Defense Attorney for some time."

"Why didn't you do it in the end?" I asked curiously. "You… would have been the best."

_(And you were.)_

Mia sunk her head a little.  
"Because… I decided that there was a more efficient way to protect."

"Protect…?"

"Also, this way I got to work with Lana for some time." She smiled again "That was quite nice… Well, until this incident at very least."

_(Probably SL-9…)_

"I just hope that she'll get back to normal now that everything got out…"

_(…Huh? )_

"After all, she has no reason to shield herself from everybody anymore…" Mia looked at me and grinned. "And you know what? Seeing you like this actually gives me hope that Lana might become the woman I once knew again."

"About Lana…"

I gulped. Since we brought her up, I just had to mention it to Mia. As a friend, she had a right to know.

"…she was arrested this evening."

"Arrested?" as expected, Mia seemed rather shocked and put her hand to her mouth out of reflex. "For what?"

"Murder… of her own sister." I bit my lip. "I found Ema dying in the living room when I got home today. Lana was at the crime scene and some evidence is pointing towards her… She also confessed to the murder…"

"Her sister…? But Lana would have never…"

"I know. The idea of Lana killing Ema is just as absurd as the idea of Maya killing you." I said, clenching my teeth.

Mia, however, seemed a little confused.

"… 'Maya killing me'? Why did you give that example?"

"…Huh?"

"I mean… Wouldn't the other way around be more appropriate in this situation?"

"Uhm…"

_(Well, if you really want to know…_

'_Oh, Miss Fey, I forgot to mention, you are supposed to be dead. Done for, kaput, buried, an Ex-Woman. But don't worry, as long as you don't mind wearing tight Kimonos, there're always your sister and cousin on standby if you need channeling!' _

…_No, I definitely won't mention that. Not if it's not 100% necessary. Telling her that Ema's dead and that Lana was arrested is a big enough shock for today. Also, she doesn't really believe me anyway, so why bother telling her?)_

"Anyway… Her trial is going to be tomorrow. Edgeworth will be Lana's Defense Attorney and I will be the Prosecutor… But I promise you, I won't let the same thing happen to her that happened to you. She will not be declared guilty."

"So you'll lose for her sake? I mean, you haven't lost a case in almost three years after all… I thought you were going for a perfect record from this point on."

'Perfect Record'? Now I sure as heck knew that I didn't like this other 'me'. And I still didn't know how 'I' managed to sink this low… I mean, what I had heard about 'Phoenix Wright, Prosecutor' so far was bad. Almost Von-Karma-Family-level bad.

"Screw a 'Perfect Record'!" I said loud and clearly, almost shouting. "Lana Skye is innocent! I won't treat the lives of defendants like cards in a card game!"

"I see…"

Mia seemed very satisfied by me saying this. Still full of energy from my little outburst, I leaned forwards a bit.

"Miss Fey, in the past 12 hours, many people mentioned your trial to me, yet I still don't know what actually happened. If you could explain it to me, it would be a huge help."

While we were speaking, Mia's bang had slipped into her face from behind her ear. She flipped it back before answering.

"So you really can't remember a thing about it?"

"Nothing." I confirmed.

_(But 'can't remember' is probably not the right phrase. It's more like it had never happened for me at all.)_

Mia nodded to indicate that she had understood when I finished talking. I still had no idea whether she believed my story or not… But in any case, she closed her eyes and explained.

"Dahlia and I… we tried to kill a man."

"Y…You…? You don't admit to-"

"At least that's what's written in the protocol." Mia cut me short. "Actually, we were just investigating this person, using some tricks… But we were never planning to harm him. At least not physically."

"You and Dahlia?"

"I needed help. The man in question was a lot stronger than me. Without the element of surprise, the plan I had prepared could have easily backfired… Well, in the end it backfired anyway."

"What happened?" I asked.

Mia answered.

"Somebody poisoned him, while we were still talking. I don't know how they managed to do it. I was knocked out during a struggle. When I woke up again, I found myself in custody, accused of attempted murder, along with Dahlia."

"So, you didn't do it. And Dahlia…"

"Couldn't have done it either." She quickly stopped me, before I could go any further. "I heard her being knocked out shortly before me, she didn't wear gloves and there were no fingerprints on the injection needle which was found. Assuming she didn't apply the poison with telekinesis, it's entirely impossible that she could have done it. By the way, I wasn't wearing gloves either and they also didn't find any at the crime scene."

"Yet you were declared guilty?" I asked stunned.

"Thanks to your prosecution."

I gulped. Mia's look had hardened a little bit more again. I backed off a tiny little bit and looked away.

"Was it really that… persuading?"

"The trial proceeded in a, for you, typical manner." Mia explained. "It started out quite weak for you, with very few persuading arguments and a lot of guessing around and bluffing… and then suddenly, out of nowhere, you turned the whole case upside down by bringing something that everyone had missed up to that point to the court's attention."

_(Yeah… this does definitely sound like me…)_

I tried hard to imagine a Prosecutor using my methods. It just didn't fit into my image of a typical Prosecutor. To me, a Prosecutor was someone, who worked according to a plan, who knew how to impress the judge and had all the details that the Defense lacked. My methods seemed just… weird for someone in this position. Mia seemed to have a similar opinion.

"This is, by the way, a quite unusual 'tactic' for a Prosecutor…"

"Well, I guess I'm just not cut for that job."

"Oh, but you are good." Mia said. "The fact that I'm sitting here proves it."

Again, I looked at Mia, sitting there behind the glass window, in her own body. Mia Fey, a woman with incredible passion for the law… she didn't belong here. What did I do to bring her here? How could I have possibly 'proven' this woman guilty of attempted murder?

I then looked at Dahlia behind her. I remembered what an incredibly good actress Dahlia was. Even Mia has had trouble to get the judge to snap out of her charm and get the court back on her side after this woman had taken the witness stand. And I seriously managed to persuade the judge that this apparent embodiment of innocence was trying to commit a murder, when she was actually innocent? Just like that? How could I ever find proof strong enough to support such an obvious misjudgment?

Was 'I' actually that good? And if the answer was 'Yes'… How could I use those skills to do this to Mia, of all people?

The only explanation for this would be, that the 'other' Phoenix Wright lacked most of my morals and many of my character traits… And this explanation confused me. How could the lack of one single event in the history of all of us, everyone who ever had anything to do with DL-6 at all, have such a huge impact on my personality? Especially since I was never directly involved.

From what I knew, the one it should have had the hugest impact on was Edgeworth. And sure, a lot about him changed, but at the core, he was still quite similar to the Edgeworth I knew. Then there was Maya, on whom the whole thing should have had a certain effect as well, but she was apparently the same enthusiastic girl as ever, except that they now paid her for being the way she is. And Mia… I couldn't make out any notable differences, except for the fact that she wasn't a lawyer.

Then again, there was Dahlia… And I had no idea what to think about the changes to her. I barely knew anything about the 'real' Dahlia in the first place, except that she had been coldhearted, greedy and obsessed with revenge. So what to think about this shivering scared girl in the corner over there? I had absolutely no idea if any of her other personality traits were still the same. Maybe everything else, except the fact that she wasn't a coldblooded murderer was still the same? But Dahlia's change had a reason… If her family was now the main Fey-family, this meant that she and Iris grew up in Kurain, alongside Mia and Maya, which was a huge change in background, considering what originally happened to the twins. It was only logical that this had positive influence on her character. So… what about me?

Thinking about this made me realize, again, how lost I actually felt at the moment. After all, I still had barely any idea what was actually going on… I just wanted things to return to being how they were the day before. Wanted to be back in my office, watching TV while Maya talks about things that make no sense. And then, after some days, someone bursts in and tells me that they have an un-winnable case and I step up and promise to help them. That's how it had always been the past three years. That's how I wanted it to be.

…Something occurred to me.

Maya… There was something about Maya.

I thought a little harder…

…There was a reason... why Maya… wouldn't be in the office. Even if everything went back to normal. For …some…reason… Maya wouldn't be there.

But I couldn't recall why.

_(This is weird… I know that I should be able to remember that. But somehow, the memory just doesn't come… Am I blocking something out…?)_

Maya… Suddenly, I just felt like I had to go see her. Her smile, her voice, her naïve remarks, her boundless enthusiasm… I needed that now. The concert ticket in my pocket came to my mind. With a quick look at my watch, I knew that it was 7:27pm now. There was still enough time to go and see that concert.

But first, there were some more things I had to ask the Fey sister before me.

"Mia… I mean, Ms. Fey… Because of tomorrow…"

"Yes?"

Mia listened to me closely and the feeling of having her attention gave me a little more confidence. I went on.

"…I am not quite sure what I should do now. Because of Lana, I mean. I am supposed to prosecute against her but… but actually, I just can't see how she could have killed her own sister, evidence or not. I thought that maybe I should just perform miserable on purpose, so she'd be declared Not Guilty, but then Edgeworth told me that we'll never find the real killer if I do that…"

"And Mr. Edgeworth is right." Mia told me "Rushed trials are always full of errors, no matter the given verdict. If you prosecute badly on purpose, Lana will probably be spared, yes, but we'll still never know what really happened today and the case's file will forever be nothing but one big misunderstanding."

"But if I give my best, the judge may be persuaded of Lana's guilt too soon and pass the verdict before the truth was found regardless. So what am I supposed to do now?"

"Mr. Wright…" Mia started, her voice sounding as calm and soft as I remembered it to be. "Do what you think is right."

"But what if I make the wrong decision?" I asked nervously.

"If you really want to make the right decision, you'll figure which one it is." Mia said. "Just trust me."

"Y-Yes, Chief…"

I was trying to come up with something else to say, some other question to ask, just something else to talk to her about, just to make sure that I wouldn't forget anything, when suddenly a sound echoed through the room.

*BRZZ*

The next moment, everything was pitch-black. For a moment I thought that I might have passed out again, but I was still feeling the table under my hands and the chair I was sitting on. After about a minute or something, I heard steps again, people walking around and talking to each other.

"Why are all the lights and computers out?"

"Something must have blown the fuses."

"All of them? At once! Have you any idea how many fuses there are for the electricity in this building?"

"Lightning probably struck somewhere close by."

"That's weird, why did the weather forecast not mention this?"

"No matter what caused it, go and fix it! We have dangerous criminals here, we can't afford a power shortage of this kind for more than a few minutes! Hurry!

It was not too long after those words, that I started hearing cries from somewhere. After turning my head a few times to find the source, I realized that it was coming from the other room… Someone was crying loud enough in there for the sound to pass through the thick glass…

Three minutes later, the light finally went back on. The first thing I saw when I could make out the room behind the glass again were Dahlia and Mia.

Dahlia was kneeling on the floor in the middle of the room, sobbing, her opened parasol lying beside her. Mia was apparently trying to comfort her.

The microphone turned back on again now. Since Dahlia was talking so loud, I could understand every word she said… or rather, cried.

"…It's all over now… W-We will never get… home again… We are going to die here, Mia! We are going to die in here! If I stay here any longer, I…I…I want to go home! M-Mia…"

"Dahlia, calm down. Don't worry, I'm sure we will get out here soon. They'll find out what really happened that day and we will be released. You just have to stay strong a little longer."

"B-But they all think we did it… Mia… everybody thinks that we did it! Nobody will help us!"

"That's not true, Dahlia."

"But… But…"

I could barely believe what I heard. Dahlia really seemed to be on the edge of her last reserves of strength. Also, I never thought I would ever see Mia trying to encourage her. While the Dahlia and Mia I knew had been each other's nemesis, those two were... friends.

I decided that it would probably be best to leave now, so I prepared to stand up, just when I heard Dahlia's voice once again through the mic.

"W-What about Miles? Didn't he come?... He said he was going to come today… He said he was going to visit."

I stopped mid-movement, sitting down again immediately and listened up. That tone in her voice… that sounded like she was talking about her…

(No… way…)

She couldn't possibly mean the Miles I was thinking of… There was no way she could mean him…

Mia's voice came through the mic next.

"It seems like he got a case this evening. He's probably still investigating on it."

I gulped. The same Miles.

"Because of… another case?... B-But I want to see him! I need him now…!"

"I'm sure he'll come to see you tomorrow. He wouldn't forget about you."

I thought that I had finally found out where I was here: In a bad soap opera. Yes. Because _this_ was only possible in a bad soap opera. Yes, because there was no way in hell, no way in the world, no way in the whole _universe_ that Dahlia and… and… Miles Edgeworth were a… a… a…

"I-It's because of that person, right?

Or maybe, Dahlia said. "_It's because of that person: Wright." _It was hard to tell the anyway almost non-existent difference through the mic alone. Also, this wasn't exactly what I cared about that moment and so I just listened.

"Iris's boyfriend…this… 'Phoenix Wright'. He wasn't supposed to come here tonight… Miles didn't come because he came, right? It's all … this person's fault…!"

"Dahlia, visiting time had been over for a while. He wouldn't have come anymore today anyway."

"But… if it wasn't for… for this disgusting, lying man… We wouldn't be here! He did this to us! And… and Iris… My poor sister Iris, he tricked her! All along, he just tricked her! This…"

"That's enough. You need to calm down, alright?"

"I… I don't want to…!"

"Dahlia. Calm down."

"…"

"Let's go back to our cells."

I had already decided to leave and to rise from my chair two sentences ago. Now I was at the door. I caught one last, quick glance of Mia and Dahlia leaving the room behind the glass, guided by the guard, I pushed the door open and left the building.

I still had no idea where I ended up or why or how. Or if maybe I was still in the same place, just with heavy alterations made to everyone and everything.

So many things were still like I knew them… the people I knew were there, most places I knew looked pretty much the same as always… and yet, there were also these changes, which caused this place to feel unfamiliar to me, to scare me. At least the few minutes of talking to Mia I got here had given me courage and confidence… and yet something had been missing from them. And this something… was the Mia I knew. Probably because 'this' Mia wasn't really my friend, didn't even really know me… Or maybe, there was more behind it? I couldn't quite tell.

When I stepped outside, I was greeted by a clear night sky, decorated by a large number of bright stars.

_(Ah, yes, I know this situation from TV. I'm now supposed to search for constellations, in order to find out whether I am still on the same planet, right? Well, let's see then…)_

I let my eyes wander across the sky.

_(Big Dipper, Big Dipper, Big Dipper… Wait…Come to think of it, actually, I don't even really know where to find the Big Dipper this time of year… or what the Big Dipper looks like for that matter… Phoenix Wright, you just earned yourself an F in astronomy.)_

Sighing, I stopped looking at the sky before my neck could turn stiff, and I went down the street. Sunshine Coliseum wasn't too far… I would be able to see Maya. Maybe even talk to her. In the end, I was incredibly glad now, that Edgeworth gave me his one ticket. At the same time, however, I felt that meeting Maya would be just the same as meeting Mia: Something would be missing.

Our friendship, probably…

After all, she wasn't the Maya I remembered.

A frightening thought had been there in the back of my head for a while now: What if I was the one who had changed? The only one? What if the things I remembered actually never happened? Maybe the 'world I know' had never really existed? However, there were some things keeping me from giving in to those thoughts. The most important of them was right there in my pocket.

I took a look at the Magatama again. Its green glow was even more visible now that it was night and dark.

The Magatama was a gift from Maya. My friend, Maya. It was the proof that she existed.

The energy which caused this gem to glow was a gift from Pearls. This proved that we met, that I gave the Magatama to her, like Maya had asked me to do and that she charged it. It was proof that we, the three of us, were friends.

And why were we friends? We met because of Mia. Because I was her protégé. And this proved that Mia, the Defense Attorney, too, existed.

Why did I become her protégé in the first place? Because I wanted to save the Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. Meaning that Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth existed as well.

The list could be continued endlessly. In the end, the Magatama was the one evidence I needed: My career, my life had not been a dream. If anything was a dream, it was this place.

And I would wake up and get back home. One way or another.

…After I set everything right here, of course.

* * *

_**Overview (Currently in Court Record)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge__  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama__  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. Now, if I just knew how to properly use all the functions…

_*) Concert Ticket_  
A VIP ticket to a concert at Sunshine Coliseum, entitled 'Doubted Sentence'. Apparently, Maya is singing there.

_*) Suicide Note  
_Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

"I have decided to put an end to both our miseries here and now.

Now, neither of us will have to live with the shame and pain.

Let us meet again, my sweet sister.

And please, forgive me.

Lana Skye."

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood. Slightly smudged on the left side, but otherwise relatively clean.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright__  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and probably a Spirit Medium in this 'world'. Was apparently my girlfriend up until recently.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

* * *

_Expanded the court record to be more like the actual court record. This means slightly now writing work for me, but writing work is fun anyway, so~ ^^_

_Now, if anybody could please tell me how exactly it is possible to drag out a scene originally intended to be TWO A4 pages long for a total of SIXTEEN pages I'd be very grateful. Ahh, me and my verbosity... _

_A~nyway, this chapter is mainly for showing off Mia and Dahlia, as well has providing Phoenix with a bit of information that he'll need. Also, yes, Alt!Dahlia and Alt!Edgeworth are a couple. NO, this is not implying that I support this pairing. In fact, I don't support any pairings involving Dahlia-I-Will-Kill-You-All-Hawthorne. Also, I think that Edgeworth's libido is pretty much equal to zero, at least in the games' continuity. Believe me, there are plot reasons for absolutely everything that's happening, so don't jump to conclusion and think the author (aka: Me) had just gone nuts. Well, maybe I am a little nuts, but I'm still trying my best to deliver a good story, promise! XD_

_Listened to "Elegy of Surveillance Cameras" during the whole writting process of this chapter, since it's my favorite Detention Center BGM in the games.  
_

_One reviewer commented that Phoenix had been acting out of character regarding the blood note. I apologize if I conveyed this scene in a way that made it appear like this, of course, that was not in my intention, I just wanted to emphasize how confused and nervous he is due to everything around him. It's true that he usually wouldn't make such a stupid move when he's trying (keyword: trying) to think all his actions through, but I think it's not out of character for him to act a little hasty and thoughtless when he's put under additional pressure in a situation like this. Also, after having to deal with 4 notes of this kind in sucession, who wouldn't get a little angry when yet another one pops up suddenly in a place you don't need it?  
_

_Next chapter will have a whole lot more stuff happening and cover a larger time frame. It will also see a cameo by a character I personally like quite a lot. _

_I hope you'll enjoy it!  
_


	7. Maya's Objection

**May 1st, 8:03pm**

**Sunshine Coliseum**

The Coliseum was, naturally, extremely crowded when I arrived. I had a hard time fighting through the hordes of teenagers present to get anywhere near the entrance, not to mention the torture that was moving forward inside. Mind you, I had a VIP pass. I don't want to know what moving around in there would have been like with a normal ticket. I promised myself to thank Edgeworth for this one later. The concert had started two hours ago, so the music was already echoing through the area, and ear shattering loud at that. Actually, if you just came to listen to the songs, the concert ticket was a pure waste of money: Standing in front of the Coliseum was enough to understand them. Probably even better than in here, since the volume in the hall was already starting to cause me tinnitus and I hadn't been in here for too long. I couldn't see the singer on the stage yet, but the voice was clearly male and, thus, it was not Maya. The other band was currently playing.

From what I picked up of the lyrics, the current song was about love and... being arrested. However those two were supposed to go together... The song writer was probably an overly enthusiastic policeman. Spotting the Blue Badger as decoration when I drew closer to the stage confirmed this suspicion.

I could see how Maya was holding a concert together with this band. With Mia being a Detective, she certainly had some ties to the police as well.

Still... why did it have to be a godforsaken rock band?

I wasn't a rock music hater... It was the volume that bothered me. There was a thin line between "noisy" and "eardrum killing noisy". This band had crossed that line five times and then continued their way another hundred miles straight forward. I was actually reluctant to continue my way even further forward, closer towards the source of this so-called 'song', but I wanted to see the stage. Maya would be singing on it soon... at least I hoped that I didn't miss her.

Finally I caught my first glimpse of the stage... And heard something incredible: Fan girls actually screaming loud enough to be audible through this noise!

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"KLAVIER, I LUV YOU!"

"OMG OMG OMG OMG!"

"ARREST MEEEEEE TOO! PLEASE!"

"HE LOOKED AT ME! I'M FAINTING! I'M FAINTING!"

_(No girl, that's just the music. Don't pin it on the singer's eyes.)_

Wondering how it was possible for anyone to be that obsessed with a single person, I finally took a look at the band on the stage myself.

What I found was a five people band, led by a singer and lead guitarist, whom I guessed to be the one those girls were obsessing about: a blonde boy, looking like he was in his mid-to-late teens, with sun glasses and pierced ears, dressed in dark purple leather. There were so many rings shining on his fingers, I wondered how he could even play his instrument with those.

However, I had to give this guy credit: his voice wasn't bad. Very strong and yet clear...

There was something…

Something about this singer gave me a weird feeling... But I couldn't quite pinpoint it.

I felt dizzy, like losing the ground beneath my feet, but, then again, this could just as well have been because of the music. At least that's what I told myself, until it grew worse and worse while I kept looking at the singer. I closed my eyes and immediately felt relief... I opened them again and saw the singer. The dizziness returned. There was no denying that the singer was the cause. The more I looked at him and the closer I listened to his voice, the more I felt like...

_(...passing out again? No, please not here! The crowd will mercilessly trample me to mash for sure if I fall down here...)_

I took a deep breath and tried, with my eyes closed, to calm down, but as long as the singer's voice was still there, the feeling of dizziness just wouldn't vanish completely. A guitar-solo finally gave me a break long enough to think a little bit.

It then came to me: I had seen that boy before. Some...where...

I was stunned when I found the information about "where" exactly I had seen him before to be... not there. I knew exactly that I had already met this boy. But I couldn't recall in the least where or when exactly I had met him. Like the memory had been cut out clean with a pair of sharp scissors. It was unusual in that it felt kind of obvious that there was... a gap. Yes, I could actually _feel _the gap in my memory. The same thing had already happened half an hour prior, when I had tried to remember why exactly I had the feeling that Maya wouldn't be in my office once everything returned to normal. Now that I thought about it, it had been the same too when I held the blood note in my hands...

What was going on with my head? Why where there Swiss-cheese holes in my memory?

_(This singer... If I could just remember where I saw him before...What did those girls call him again? 'Klavier'? ...Klavier, Klavier, Klavier...)_

Even searching my mind for the name made me feel dizzy, yet I couldn't find anything. Not a single thing about a rock star by the name "Klavier".

But there should have been something. I just knew it. The answer was there… somewhere. But I couldn't access it, no matter how hard I tried. And the loud music didn't make it any easier to think for me...

Finally, the song ended.

My ears actually felt numb and were ringing loudly, but at least that song was over. The guitarist's voice was gone... I could finally take a breath again...

The only noise in the hall was now the shouting mass of people, cheering up to their idols, especially the band lead guitarist and singer. He was definitely getting most of the attention. From what I heard, the cheering for the other band members was downright ridiculous compared to the countless screams of "KLAVIER! KLAVIER!" which echoed through the hall loudly.

Finally, the young man, who was somehow constantly blessing his fans down there with a glamorous, calm smile, stepped up to the microphone at the stage's edge again and started to speak.

"Danke! Thank you, Thank you, everybody, you are all amazing!"

Even when he was merely speaking, his voice still had something melodic to it. Still, I wondered what exactly the first word was supposed to mean. It was apparently a foreign language. Seeing how this was a rock band, probably German or something similar...

"Werte Damen und Herren! Dear audience, you can't imagine how glad we are to be able to play for you today! In the name of the whole band, I have to thank you all! It's because of you loyal fans that the Gavinners are where they are now! Therefore: Herzlichen Applaus! An applause for everybody in here, please!"

Momentarily, the audience, especially the girls, broke out into loud shouting, squealing and screaming, repeating phrases quite similar to those of the girls whom I had heard before over and over again, until the guitarist rose his hand on the stage. The fans turned quiet again.

"However, being the young band we are, we are, sadly, all out of songs already and thus already arrived at the end of our little Gig here!

Cue the loud moaning from a chorus composed of about a few thousand in the audience. Right until the guitarist raised his hand yet again and continued talking.

"-That means… this _would_ be the end, if not for tonight's _real _main attraction! ...I think mentioning Fräulein MAYOI should ring a bell?"

Immediately a mass of screams of 'MA~YO-CHAN, SUKI-DA-YO!' echoed through the air, loud enough to cause me to momentarily twitch.

Also: 'Mayo-chan?' I didn't know what was more ridiculous: the rocker's gratuitous German or the MAYOI-fan's gratuitous... uhm... Japanese? Actually, I could only guess... I wasn't that good with languages.

"Ah, ja, I see, everybody here knows her! Of course, she is a voice to know. However, what would a passionate, powerful voice be without passionate, powerful music? And this, meine Damen und Herren, is the reason why I think that my friends and me can't quite leave yet, can we?"

The screams of the band's fans resumed once again, but even louder than before. Apparently, the 'MAYOI'-fans had now joined in. Interestingly, there seemed to be a whole lot more male voices shouting now than before...

The Guitarist stepped back a little bit from the microphone, giving his fellow band members a sign, before he hit the chords of his guitar. With this cue, the band started playing again. The kind of music they now played, however, sounded rather different from what they had played before. More emphasis on melody and rhythm, less emphasis on volume... Of course, I was no expert, but this was quite a nice relief for me.

"Damen und Herren!" The guitarist, already playing, repeated once more, making me wonder if this was one of the only ten phrases he could say in that language. "We give you... MAYOI!"

With those words, the stage was suddenly died in a purple light, as all the spotlights focused at one single spot in the back of the stage.

And... there she was.

Even though I couldn't remember seeing her enter the stage... The guitarist had just pulled all the attention to himself, so her entering had passed by unnoticed. But now she was there.

Maya.

She was dressed in a rose top with sequins on it and a short, purple skirt. Also, she wore detached sleeves and her hair was still tied up in a ponytail, like it had been when I met her that morning. I will not try to explain all the different kinds of frills and ribbons there were to her outfit, because that would probably take hours. But, bottom-line is she looked sugary cute, which befitted a young pop idol.

...Actually, it was quite obvious that she had picked that wardrobe herself. This was just… her.

With a great, big smile on her lips and a microphone in her hand, she ran up to the front of the stage and exclaimed:

"Everybody! HI!"

The audience reacted by loudly repeating the word "Hi" after her. Maya laughed.

I just stared at the stage. There she was, my friend and assistant: that cheerful, energetic, somewhat weird girl... right there at the centre of everyone's attention. She was smiling and laughing and preparing to sing for everyone here.

Just half a year ago, Maya offering to sing in public was nothing more than a little joke of hers to cheer up an upset her manager. Now it has become reality. I was about to witness... a singing Maya Fey.

"Alright!" Maya exclaimed loudly into her microphone. "Since this is a Gavinners concert too, I guess everybody knows which song I'm gonna start with! Right, right?"

"YES!"

Maya's eyes seemed to glow with joy when she heard her many fans voices. She really seemed to enjoy having all those people cheer for her. The intro of the song was still playing and she wasn't even singing yet. Apparently she wanted to make it 'interesting'.

"Well, OK, but let's see if you're really ready for it first! Everybody, tell me the codeword!"

Then she held her microphone down towards the audience, this caused them to loudly fulfill her plea with a single word:

"OBJECTION!"

_(...Uhm... WHAT?)_

My first thought was just how many unlikely, weird, uncanny coincidences there could possibly be in the world.

My second thought was that this was going to be a song that I would like.

"AH! What was that? Now, people, you have to put some spirit into it, or nobody will listen to what you have to say! C'mon! 3, 2, 1... OBJECTION!"

"OBJECTION!"

Uhm... yes, I had joined in now. I was now officially part of the screaming crowd... But for a good reason!

Apparently the volume of the audience's objecting was now pleasing Maya since she started jumping across the stage cheerfully as she kept 'objecting' in the music's rhythm along with the crowd ...including me. The music finally changed and a loud cue made it obvious that the main part of the song had finally started. Maya ran back to the stage's centre and brought the microphone close to her mouth and sang.

"_There is something I can't agree with,_

_So I have decided to object, let me object to this!_

_I will raise my finger and explain you my point now:_

_HOLD IT!_

_Excuse me, but there is something that doesn't quite check out,_

_With what you told me yesterday and the day before that other one,_

_Thought it would pass by me, but this was one huge mistake, _

_I tell you!_

_Oh, that's right, I can see it clearly now!_

_Yes! Since everything you told me was just a lie!_

_Now! Don't expect me to cover up for you!_

_OBJECTION!_

_There is something I can't quite agree with,_

_So, How about if we take this matter to court? _

_Well, you could, of course, refuse to testify, _

_But wouldn't this be a dead giveaway?"_

Maya kept on singing, followed by the cheering voices of the crowd. She really seemed to be enjoying herself, even varying her mimic according to the lyrics. I was a little baffled by how well she was doing this, like she had never done anything else. Without any nervousness, and also apparently without the need to take a breath now and then, she hit absolutely every note and kept singing this weirdly appropriate song.

I'll be honest: I liked the song a lot. The music, the lyrics, the emotion in Maya's voice... Suddenly, I didn't mind the volume of the music, which was, after all, still extremely loud. I just watched as Maya 'danced' all across the stage and kept on singing. With the start of the song's second part, background singers had joined in, and Maya integrated them into the show by using them as 'actors' to perform the song's 'plot'. It was weird, but, all in all, the song, despite obviously being meant to be about a couple that was breaking up on the basis of betrayal, felt a lot like one of the many cross-examinations I already did over the course of my career. A young woman cross-examining her boyfriend... that image was a little strange, but, surprisingly, it somehow worked. It wasn't hard to guess how exactly Maya came up with the idea for this song... with her family-ties – I tried hard to not think of the Dahlia-Edgeworth thing – there was more than enough inspiration for this kind of song in her environment.

_(...Hm, she said she was singing this song first because it fit to the band accompanying her. Well, with those Blue Badgers all over the place...)_

I shivered when I remembered that those creepy creatures were everywhere here.

_(...I guess I was right when I guessed that this band had ties to the police... Hm...)_

I took another look at the guitarist who was now calmly playing his guitar to Maya's singing. Again, just seeing him gave me a strange feeling, but now that he wasn't singing anymore, it was a whole lot less intensive than before. Apparently, his voice was the main trigger for the dizziness from before.

So, his band was somehow connected to law enforcement... This meant I could just as well know him from court...

_(If I just knew what exactly his job was, this would be easy... I would just have to recall every trial I led and browse through everyone who was involved. I'd surely remember who he was then...)_

The song carried on for about 3 minutes more and Maya kept moving around in a hyper-motivated manner the whole time without showing signs of exhaustion. It was obvious that this was far from her first time doing this. With the last "Woooh!" she slowly sat down on the floor and finally just stretched out her arm one last time:

"OBJECTION!"

The whole band and the background singers had 'objected' along with her, causing a, admittedly, rather good looking scene on the stage since everyone on it was now in more or less the same pose: Finger outstretched, pointing straight at the audience. Had I known how to handle that cellphone in my pocket, I would have taken a picture of this just because I kind of liked what it looked like.

The crowd was still cheering loudly when Maya got up from the floor again. She bowed a few times to her audience, her hands folded while she did so. She then picked up the microphone, which she had left on the floor, and spoke into it.

"Thank you everybody! That was awesome! Now, because it was so much fun, let's hear it once more: Now...!"

She held out the microphone to the audience.

"OBJECTION!"

Maya grinned satisfied and put the mic back to her mouth. "Great! Alright, I hereby declare you all ready for the courtroom! Oh, that reminds me, I could probably use this part to do some advertising, couldn't I? OK, everybody, listen up: if you ever got trouble with some guys accusing you of murder, theft, or copying their homework, just pay 'Edgeworth's Law Offices' a visit! Miles is a pro! He'll bail you out for sure! And serve you tea while doing so!"

_(Though I doubt he'd actually take that last one...)_ I thought to myself quietly. _(Wait... Edgeworth is serving his clients tea?)_

"...Well, actually, you'll need to visit around 3pm to have that work... and ask really nice... Hm..."

_(3pm. Tea Time. Figures.)_

"Ah...Anyway, count on him, he's really good! My cousin can approve of this for you!"

_(Don't think of Dahlia, Phoenix… don't think of her and Edgeworth standing side by si- Darn it.)_

As always, Maya had no idea how to advertise a law firm. But that probably didn't matter anyway. I was rather sure that at least ten dozen people in here would have jumped into the Eagle River if she told them to, so this little speech of hers should do its magic anyway, regardless of her complete lack of marketing talent.

"So, now..."

Maya grinned cheekily, as she suddenly ran across the stage. She stopped right next to the guitarist, who looked at her with a smile when Maya started staring at him, hands folded behind her back, eyes shining in expectation.

"Ach, does Fräulein have a request?" he asked into his microphone and Maya proceeded to pull her own forth from behind her back and spoke.

"Well Mr. Gavin, we now know that the audience is real good at objecting, and I don't want to boast, but I'm not too bad either, I think... But now it's time that the real Master shows us how it's done!"

The guitarist flipped one of his bangs: "So, you want me to raise an objection for the fans?"

Maya nodded. She seemed really excited: "Yes, please! I haven't seen you in court yet, so I'm really curious what your trademark pose looks like!"

"My 'trademark pose'?"

"You all have one!" Maya claimed, sounding rather convinced of her opinion. "Don't try to hide it! I know all about it! Every lawyer has his own, distinct pose they take whenever they dramatically yell their loud and clearly audible 'Objection'! That's basically a law!"

_(So that guy is a lawyer...?)_

I was quite surprised. This teenager didn't exactly look like a lawyer... Not at all.

...How old was he anyway? He couldn't possibly be older than seventeen! What age did he start? I mean, sure, Franziska von Karma started when she was thirteen, but that was supposed to be an _exception_!

Also, there was another question: If this guy really was a Lawyer, was he a Defence Attorney or a Prosecutor? I had a feeling that I wouldn't figure that out from the way he was objecting alone...

...But if I had really met this guy before, there was a high chance that he was a Prosecutor. Only someone I faced off against would leave an impact huge enough on me to cause me to feel faint when I hear his voice. I wasn't like those fangirls here after all. Hopefully...

"Hah..." The singing-guitarist-lawyer adjusted his sunglasses and tilted his head slightly.

"Well, if it's what this sweet Fräulein wants, how could I possibly _not _object? Of course, only if the fans don't object to me objecting..."

_(Wait, when you say 'objecting'...Do you mean actually yelling "Objection", or objecting to doing so, or... Argh... Why do I even bother? ...I hereby object to myself bothering my brain with this. Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing.)_

Without any further ado, the singing-guitarist-lawyer – and I decided that I should better start calling this guy by his name now – took his hands off his guitar, letting it hang down on its strap on his body freely, took the microphone into his left hand, and, finally, dynamically stretched out his right arm and yelled in a very dramatic manner:

"OBJECTION!"

That moment... my heart skipped a beat.

...A beat? Make that a few.

I don't quite know what exactly happened to me the second I heard this guy's objection... But, suddenly, for no apparent reason, I felt like... there was nothing around me. Absolutely nothing. Like I had ended up somewhere in a dark void as the last person alive, with only this single word spoken in this young man's voice, echoing around me. I couldn't perceive anything else for the next few seconds... and those seconds felt like hours.

I was about to faint again. I knew it. I just knew it. Forcing myself to stay awake with all my power, I brought the young guitarists name to my mind and tried to make a connection to something. Anything At all. I knew him. I just had to know him from somewhere. Otherwise he wouldn't be causing me this reaction. I had met him before! But where? I had to remember. I tried to force myself with all my might...

_(Klavier... The fans called him that. And Maya called him... 'Mr. Gavin'... Klavier Gavin. That must be his name. Klavier... Gavin... who is he? Just who is he? Gavin... Gavin... Ungh...)_

My consciousness was on the verge of shutting down. I felt it, but at least I could also feel that I was still standing on my two feet... barely. Regardless, I didn't let go of the name and tried to force my brain to dig up something regarding this name. Anything. Just anything...

As I tried to remember harder and harder, finally, a weirdly familiar feeling overcame me. I didn't understand right away what it was, but then, I felt a certain warmth coming from my pocket...

The Magatama... was it reacting to something?

And then I heard the sound.

The rattling of chains and something closing off tightly. I saw them when I still couldn't perceive anything else around me.

Right before me, in plain sight, there were five sets of chains... each of them joined together by a big, mystical-looking white lock.

I gasped.

_(P-Psyche Locks?) _

The locks were so close to me that I could have touched them, but I didn't dare to. And when I let my eyes wander across the chains in order to see where they were going, I noticed that they were basically drawing a circle around... me.

_(W-Why are there Psyche Locks on me? That's impossible...)_

I stared at the chains and the locks for a few more moments before they slowly but surely started to fade out of my view...

The dark nothing around me dissolved and I started to hear voices again... my normal perception of the environment had returned.

When I was back in reality at last, I was greeted by a monster headache, causing me to momentarily twitch. I finally noticed that Maya was already singing again... Wondering how long I had been in my thoughts, I looked at the stage and saw her dance, as she sung with a strong voice.

"_...I'm not afraid, not even in the dark,_

_Not even with a knife to my sore throat_

_Come on, we still have time, _

_Let's postpone the truth a bit longer with a White Lie._

_But don't forget it in the end, or it will shatter_

_And my miracle will have never happened."_

I was surprised when I realized that Maya's voice had actually trembled at one point and that she had almost failed to complete the word "happened" because of this. Her smile, as well, seemed a little more... forced now. And she generally seemed quite exhausted. How long had I been out? Maybe I had missed a few songs while trying to tear my mind apart for this 'Gavin'...

A look at the watch told me that it was 20:32. I had spaced out and stayed that way for about fifteen minutes...

If I knew one thing now, it was that I had to find out more about all of those mysterious topics my brain was apparently blocking. Those Psyche Locks couldn't mean anything good...

I suddenly heard someone talk in front of me...

"MAYOI seems a little tired today..."

"Well, of course she's tired! Didn't you hear about what happened to her sister?"

"Yeah. I even saw the trial on television. That guy in the Prosecution's bench really crushed her Defence Lawyer..."

"MAYOI was there too, right? I think I saw her in the Defence's Bench..."

"Yeah, she was trying to help her sister's lawyer. It ended with her almost getting removed from the room trice, because she called the Prosecutor... uhm... names. The nasty kind."

I gulped.

"MAYOI, cursing? No way!"

_(Yeah, no way!)_

"That's not all! Her third threat included something among the lines of 'I wish you'd drop dead'."

"Not true!"

"True."

_(That's not like you at all, Maya... Oh my god, how much exactly does she hate me?)_

Suddenly I didn't feel like talking to her at all anymore... Then again, I had felt similarly about talking to Mia too... I couldn't just turn around and leave now. I still had to at least try to talk to her.

"Well, I wish that guy would drop dead, too! How dare he go claim that MAYOI's sister could have tried to kill somebody?"

"Mark, that guy's a Prosecutor. It's his job."

"Well if bringing innocent people into jail was my job, I'd quit it."

"Also, you apparently didn't see how stubbornly he kept insisting on it! It was disgusting!"

"I just hope somebody at least stepped up and punched the guy in the face afterwards! Even though he deserves far worse than that! Hmpf!"

_...Punched the guy in the face..._

I remembered the bruise in on my cheek and touched it. It was still feeling slightly numb...

_(So that's where I got it...) _I thought to myself. _(Somebody tried to slap some sense into me...)_

The song Maya was singing ended. With a last, enthusiastic pose and a loud cue, the music stopped and the crowd cheered loudly once again. Maya smiled merrily, yet the exhaustion in her sweaty face was now very apparent.

"Huh! Now, I think we all earned ourselves a little break now, didn't we?" Maya asked the crowd over her microphone.

I recognized that shine in her eyes... I knew what she was about to say...

"Well, OK, if you all excuse me now, there are some burgers with my name on them waiting for me backstage! "

The audience actually started laughing when she said that.

"No, I mean it, the cook actually wrote my name on the buns! With sesame seeds! Isn't that cool? We should call them MAYOI-burgers and make them official merchandise, so all of you can get some!"

As always, she had managed to miss the point. Luckily, Maya didn't seem to feel offended by the audience's loud laughing.

The audience finding some of her quirks to be funny was probably already regular routine. Also, I could more than just see why it was really hard to not laugh at somebody who's singing about hope, struggling and inner strength one moment, and obsessing about hamburgers in the next. Apparently, Maya didn't need her Kimono to keep the weirdness factor up.

"Alright everyone, see you in thirty minutes! Break time!"

It was then that the lights in the hall all turned on. Maya and the band members left the stage as the concert guests moved from their places, probably to go buy some snacks and drinks. I, however, had different plans. Holding my V.I.P ticket ready, I hurried towards the entrance leading to the backstage area.

Naturally, the security guard was very sceptical when I tried to get past him, so he first scanned me for weapons and everything like that before he let me pass. His metal detector reacted to my suitcase, so he opened and searched it. It turned out that the Prosecutor's Badge was the cause. Damn that little thing, I knew it was gonna cause trouble. So, after about seven minutes of the guard searching me for potential weapons for killing Maya or the rock band members, I finally got past him and ended up in the backstage section of the concert hall. The question where to find Maya was easy to answer: Just follow the smell of grilled patties and French fries. That would lead me right to her for sure.

I noticed rather quickly that I still wasn't feeling _too _secure on my own two feet... My basically unintentional tries to break through the Psyche Locks on myself had left me quite exhausted. I was still wondering how I should ever manage to break through those. The usual method wouldn't work here for sure... After all, I didn't even know what exactly those locks meant. This was going to be difficult...

"So, she didn't show up yet?"

I jerked.

_(The guit- That Gavin-guy's voice...) _

"No, she didn't come."

And that was Maya. I was 100% sure. The two of them seemed to be talking right behind the corner... I pressed against the wall, so they wouldn't notice me. I didn't want to 'face off' against Maya while she was accompanied by someone who'd possibly call the security guards as soon as I'd try to talk to her. Sharpening my ears, I tried to hear what they were saying, more out of habit than actual interest...

"But, to be honest, I'm not really surprised." Maya continued. "After all that's happened... I'm actually glad that it seems like she'd decided to not come after all. I think it's best if she takes herself some time to recover..."

"The same with the little girl?" Gavin asked.

"Yes. Well, actually, I told her to stay at home. She tried to insist on coming despite what happened, but I thought standing on the big stage now would probably be a little bit too much. She just lost part of her family too, after all..."

"And what about you?"

"Huh?"

"Fräulein, why are you here today? It was _your _sister's trial as well, after all."

I listened closer. This Gavin-guy had just made a very sound point.

"Ah- I'm fine!" Maya said, trying to sound cheerful. "I have fans waiting out there for me after all! I can't just disappoint them like that, can I? They paid to hear me sing! It wouldn't feel right to just tell them all to go home and wait for the next concert! ...Still, I feel kinda bad. Many of them were here for the Preview of the movie's theme song after all."

"Yes, the 'Moonlight Dance'... It would have been your first time performing this song and choreography on stage, right?"

"Yeah. But I can't really perform it with both of the other actresses missing, can I? I guess I changed into this for nothing after all..."

"I wouldn't say 'for nothing'. It suits you a lot."

"Really? You think so?"

"I hadn't said it if it wasn't true. You should keep it on for the remainder of the concert."

"Well, if you say so!"

"And about your fans... if you want to make up for this one missing performance, why don't you just sing this other song instead?"

"Which one? I have a lot of 'other songs'... Like, for example-"

"I mean "180°C"."

A silence followed. Since I couldn't see their faces, I didn't really know how Maya had reacted, but I imagined her to be a little bit shocked. After all, there was a reason why she had stopped singing that song. That 'reason' was standing just around the corner at the moment and she didn't even know it...

"M-Mr. Gavin..."

"Fräulein, to be honest, I had really been looking forward to playing this song on this guitar here when you first agreed to hold this concert... I'm actually also quite upset that you decided not to do so. And many of the fans out there probably think just the same. A lot of people would be really grateful if you'd reconsider this decision."

"Mr. Gavin... I am sorry, but I really can't. Not right now..."

"There is only a single direct mention of this bird in the whole song. It would be very easy to just alter this single line."

"But I never alter my lyrics or shorten my songs. I just don't think that would be right. They would feel so... 'incomplete' if I did."

"I see. ...Well, if that's how it is, I guess I can't change your mind, can I?"

"Thank you a lot for understanding this!"

The short pause after this told me that Maya was probably bowing gratefully now.

"Oh, just another fifteen minutes till break end!" Maya then exclaimed surprise. "Well, I'll go get myself two more burgers!"

"Two more? I thought you had eaten three already before..."

"I need at least five to activate my full vocal range of five octaves!" Maya claimed boastfully.

I didn't know if she was just joking or if her voice range actually spanned five full octaves. I, however, had my doubts. Why would a pop singer need a voice range of five octaves?

"Well, I guess we will meet again after the break then."

"Alright! See ya on stage, Mr. Gavin! Heheh!"

I then heard steps. Running. Probably Maya... Right in my direction.

_(...*gulp*)_

"And around the corne-!"

Maya didn't get to add the "r" to this last word anymore because she had taken mentioned corner in an incredibly, unreasonably sharp turn and crashed right into me as soon as she was... well, to say it with her words, 'Around the corne-".

An uncomfortable, hard impact on my right arm was the first consequence, being smashed to the floor the second, and feeling how a bruise came into being on the hit spot on my arm the third. Maya, however, was now sitting right in front of me, rubbing her forehead:

"Ou-Ou-Ou-Ouch... Hey...Can't you-! Huh?

Maya had opened her eyes again. And now, she was staring at me. And I was staring right back, though for a probably entirely different reason than the one she was staring at me for.

Now I knew what she had meant when she claimed that she had 'changed into this for nothing'... Maya was wearing her Medium-garb.

Her rose Kimono, fuchsia Obi-belt, purple vest, black sandals, the pearl necklace with the orange Magatama... Even that ponytail was suddenly gone again, replaced by the hairstyle I had seen almost daily ever since I first took over the office...

This was her. Maya Fey. Spirit Medium and my assistant... Just like I remembered her...

Not that she had known this, of course.

Her reaction fell out accordingly. With a five second delay, but still.

"_Y-You_?

Still on the floor, Maya suddenly backed off from me with an amazing speed, raising the distance between us from one to three meters/

"_Y-You_...came?" she stuttered nervously.

"... I was given a VIP ticket..."

I didn't mention who I got it from since I wanted to spare Edgeworth the 'Rage of Maya Fey'. However...

"Y-Yes, I know..."

"...?"

"Don't '...?' me, Mr. Wright!" Maya turned her head away. "I... I mean...

And now, she got up from the floor and turned her head back at me, making me wonder why she turned it away in the first place.

"What do you want?" Her hands had balled to fists. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"...What? Busy ruining your health with an overdose of fatty junk food?"

Right after finishing this sentence, I felt the strong urge to hit myself. I froze.

_(Why. Did I. Say this? Reflex! Pure...stupid... reflex.)_

While I was still trying to come up with some excuse for what I had just said, Maya's eyes widened as she jumped a few centimetres.

"Y-You just made fun of me, didn't you?" she finally asked.

_(...Do I even need to answer to that? Maya, seriously! ... Oh no, her eyes... *gulp* Bye world, it was nice knowing you.)_

Maya was glaring at me in a way worthy of a murder thriller. All this image needed was a knife in her right hand and some lightning in the background...

She would kill me. Then get someone to channel me, verbally harass me with the worst names she could come up with, beat me within the inch of the medium's life, exorcise me with the most uncomfortable technique she could come up with, apologize to the medium and then get the next one and repeat the procedure.

OK, maybe she wouldn't kill me at all, but she still looked surprisingly menacing.

"Y... YOU!" she shouted.

_(Ouch! My eardrums!)_

It seems like all this singing really did wonders to the volume of her voice. Actual voice-training was apparently really a whole lot superior to 'training' by simply, let's say, standing in front of a mirror and practising shouting for an hour or so. I'd have to remember that in case I ever had problems with my volume in courtroom suddenly decreasing...

Also, I have no idea why I was wondering something like that, when there was an angry Maya right in front of me, getting ready to try out her Steel-Samurai-Fangirl-'Skills' on me. With a Samurai Kick and a Samurai... Oh, you know the works.

No. I had to act. Some...thing...

_(Well, that's not exactly one detailed plan I have there...)_

"M-Maya...

_(One M. Not two. Let's try this again.)_

"Maya!"

_(Better.)_

"Maya, before you do anything rash, please listen to me!"

"_NO_! I don't want to!

Maya stomped towards me, which made me want to sink into the floor and disappear.

"You... You leave right now or I call security!"

"But I thought we both agreed that I have permission to be here..."

"Well, your so-called 'permission' has just been re-... uhm..." Maya's eyes left me and she put her finger to her mouth, continuing to stutter as she tried to spit out the word she was searching for "Re... re... re..."

"Revoked?" I finally put her out of her misery.

"Yes! It's been revocate...revoca...You haven't got it anymore!" she declared. My only response to this was letting my face sink into my hand's palm.

_(This girl is so hopeless...)_

"So, would you _please _go home now and mind your own business?"

"Sorry Maya, but I can't just leave now." I told her.

It was now that I noticed that my nervousness was gone... Apparently Maya's little vocabulary failure just now had been enough to persuade my nerves that this, despite all anger and rage, was still Maya, the Spirit Medium who lives on junk food and insists that being able to tell the difference between a normal ladder and a stepladder is close-mindedness.

"I really need to talk to you."

"Thank you, but no thank you!" Maya growled. "I decided that I've heard enough of your talking the other day! I've had _enough_!"

_(This won't work... I have to show her that I'm on her side first...)_

"Maya... I know what I did was horrible and that there's absolutely no excuse for it! But I'll try to make up for it!"

"And how are you planning on doing that! Oh! I know! You can buy me a new sister with all that fancy money of yours!" She crossed her arms, which, for some reason, looked very off. Probably because I couldn't remember ever seeing her doing that before. "You know what? I've had it with you and your lying!"

"Won't you at least give me one chance to explain myself?" I asked her "Just one? After that, I'll leave you alone, promise."

"No."

Even though I quickly realized where she must have picked up the ability to make a one word answer sound that intimidating – probably from someone with the initials 'M.E.' – I backed off a little when I heard her doing it.

_(Argh… she's set to stubborn-mode... How can I get her to listen to me?)_

"I... Well... I'll invite you out for Burgers and Noodles if you let me talk to you!"

"_Really?_"

The shine in Maya's eyes gave me a very satisfying feeling. I smirked.

_(Bait… Hook… Sinker…)_

"...Wait a minute..."

And then, the shine was gone again.

_(Eh... I forgot about the 'line', didn't I?)_

"Ha! Forget it! I'm a mature, grown up woman and not a little girl who just follows strangers who offer candy to her!

_(...I wouldn't be too sure about that one.)_

Maya kept her arms crossed in front of her body and started glaring at me again.

"You really want to talk to me that badly, Mr. Wright? You really want to hear my opinion? Well then, listen to this: Mia didn't do anything! She was innocent and you knew that just as well as me! But did you care? _No! _All you cared about was your stupid job!"

I tried to get my mind clear of all unnecessary thoughts and prepared to say something she wouldn't just cut off. This was my opportunity to talk to her... I couldn't lose it. I had to clearly, and without a doubt, show her that I was being serious about everything.

" Maya… Look. I know that you hate me and that me being here alone is probably causing you pain... But I need your help. I..."

I hesitated a little. Was this really the right way to end this sentence? But I couldn't think of anything different...

"...I can't help Mia now without it!"

"Huh?"  
As soon as the name 'Mia' fell, Maya jerked. She finally uncrossed her arms again and stared at me in surprise.

"Help... Mia...?... But the verdict was already passed!" Maya replied a little stunned. "They were given a life sentence, Mr. Wright! There's no way-"

"From what I heard... her and Dahlia's verdict was given on the basis of a lack of other possibilities, right? Maybe there were just some pieces of evidence missing! If we find them, we can still prove that someone else did it and get the verdict revised!"

"...Missing pieces of... evidence...?" Maya seemed weirdly absentminded when she muttered those words after me. It looked like she was wondering something, but I had no idea what it was. It was also now that the anger vanished from her expression. She seemed more flustered than anything now. Finally, she turned her head away and mumbled.

"W-Why are you doing this...?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Helping Mia... You just offered to help my sis..." Maya looked at me again."But you were the one who got her that sentence in the first place! So why are you doing this? And... why are you doing this... now?..."

"Now..." I repeated to myself aloud. I knew where she was going with this... and unfortunately, I was right.

"Yes... As opposed to when you were actually _supposed _to do it!" she suddenly snapped at me. "Why now, Mr. Wright? Why would you suddenly want to help us when what happened was your fault in the first place!"

_(Yes... 'why', Maya. That's a good question... Why did 'I' do this to Mia...? If this other 'Phoenix Wright' is even the least bit like me... do I have any explanation for this?)_

In the end, however, all I could do was shake my head.

"I don't know." I answered upset.

"What? You don't know?"

Maya was close to sobbing again. I could hear it in her voice.

"I... don't know why I did what I did." I replied honestly. "I don't understand it at all..."

"Then..." she was shivering a little. "...I don't know why I should believe you then, Mr. Wright."

"Stop... stop calling me...

Maya had already turned around and prepared to just walk away. I knew that what I was about to say now was inappropriate now, but I couldn't hold myself back any longer. It was enough that she was looking at me with those hating eyes...

"...please don't call me that anymore. Please."

"Huh?"

And... much to my surprise... Maya actually turned around again. She didn't say anything, but she turned around and wondered what I meant. It was apparent from the look in her face.

"Please, don't use my last name..." I said, knowing that this probably only sounded stupid to her right now.

I badly wished she'd understand what I was talking about. But I knew she wouldn't. For that reason, I looked at the floor, rather than her eyes. Still, I carried on.

"Maya... you're not supposed to call me that... That doesn't sound right at all...You... You're supposed to..."

It was weird. Even though what I was saying right now was actually the product of me failing to hold myself back from just saying what came to my mind, I also couldn't finish this sentence. Probably because I was afraid of how she might react to what I was about ask her. It was, after all, at least from her point of view, just inappropriate at the moment... Still, something inside urged me to finish the sentence regardless. Probably the part of me which was actually naive enough to believe that Maya calling me 'Nick' would put everything back to normal...

"This is weird... You...

I listened up. Maya had finally said something again...

"You're suddenly calling me 'Maya'..." she said. "All the time, ever since this morning... Why is that?"

"..."

I had nothing left anymore. Absolutely nothing. I just didn't feel like I was in the position to claim anything, to tell any excuses, to say anything at all. So I stayed silent. Maya, however, wasn't satisfied with this. She sighed. Her next words were more mumbled than outright spoken.

"Why did everything have to become the way it is... Nick?

My ears perked.

_(...What?)_

That's what she said. Exactly what she said.

I had to reassure myself that it hadn't just been my imagination or wishful thinking for the next few seconds before I finally decided that it was true. Maya had called me by my nickname.

I raised my head again, not quite believing what I just heard. When Maya was in my view again, I found her to be looking at the wall to her left. In my mind, I still tried to make sense of what she just had said. What had she meant? And... was it a coincidence? That she called me... 'Nick'?

Part of me was incredibly glad that she had said this one word. Part of me couldn't be happier because Maya was looking even more miserable now than before. And the final part was just confused. But that was nothing new. I had been confused ever since I woke up this morning. Almost constantly.

But maybe... Maybe everything would go back to normal once I woke up tomorrow? This thought spontaneously shot through my head.

But I knew that it wouldn't be so easy. It never was.

Just like talking to Maya hadn't been easy. And how I had failed at it.

Maya spoke again, but barely louder than before.

"You know, Nick...

_(There it is again...)_ I thought to myself. _(I'm not imagining it. She's actually calling me that...)_

"...in the end, it doesn't really matter why everything is the way it is now... because... because I always knew it would turn out like this one day..."

Now she was getting louder again.

"I should have known it... I mean...actually..." Finally, she turned her head towards me again and looked at me. She started shouting. "I thought that you were suspicious right away! Yeah! A-Actually, I always knew that you were bad news! _Always_!

And then came the sudden sensation like something was dead wrong.

The sound of chains rattling and the clicking of keys, closing off something.

There they were.

Three Psyche Locks slightly obscured my view at the girl before me.

_(M-Maya...)_

The Psyche Locks had appeared the moment she said that she had known me to be 'Bad News'... Marking those words as untrue. Meaning that...

_(She's lying... What she just said... wasn't true.)_

"W-Why are you starring at me like this?

_(Why did she call me by this nickname? What is the story behind those Psyche Locks? I have to know... But I have absolutely nothing I could press her with. And I am tired and exhausted... It's no use! If I present the Magatama now, I'm more likely to break myself than any of those three locks...)_

A little desperate, I stared at Maya and her three Psyche Locks. If this really was my only chance to talk to her... how would I ever be able to break them?

"S-Stop it!" Maya finally said, backing of a little. "W-What are you looking at...?" She, perhaps instinctively, crossed her arms before her chest. "You're creeping me out, Mr. Wright! Go away! Go away, go away, go...

She didn't even need to finish the sentence: A bell rang announcing the end of the thirty minute break... 'MAYOI' was required on stage again.

"Ah... No!" Maya snapped out of her fear of my stare and became shocked instead. "But what about my Burgers? That's not fair... You! It's all your fault! ARGH!

I didn't answer since I had just realized something: The break was over. And so was my chance to talk to Maya. This had been my one chance to explain everything to her... and I blew it. I absolutely and utterly blew it...

Meanwhile, Maya, after some minor hesitation, finally just walked past me, throwing me one last angry glare.

"I hope you are happy now... Mr. Wright!"

I couldn't say I was.

With this last sentence, she left me to stand there… alone.

Just what had I been doing for the past fifteen minutes? I tried to answer this question, but I couldn't come up with a legitimate answer that could satisfy. The truth was, I did nothing. I told her nothing and I found out... nothing. All that I got out of this conversation was a set of Psyche Locks, which I would never break.

Coming here had been in vein... No, at least not completely. After all... there was something else I found out.

I found out that there is a lawyer called "Klavier Gavin". And I knew something about him. Something I was refusing to remember.

* * *

_**Overview (Currently in Court Record)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge__  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama__  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. Now, if I just knew how to properly use all the functions…

_*) Suicide Note  
_Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

"I have decided to put an end to both our miseries here and now.

Now, neither of us will have to live with the shame and pain.

Let us meet again, my sweet sister.

And please, forgive me.

Lana Skye."

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood. Slightly smudged on the left side, but otherwise relatively clean.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright__  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and probably a Spirit Medium in this 'world'. Was apparently my girlfriend up until recently.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

* * *

_Alright, I have a love-hate relationship with this chapter. On one hand, I love everything Klavier and/or Psyche-lock related in this chapter (Not that I was a Klavier fangirl, but I think he's a nice character), on the other hand I'm unsure how well my self-written song lyrics hold up (And actually, they are only written out because I wanted to make it unmistakably clear what Maya is singing about... Don't worry, there won't be any more lyrics written out like this any more from now on) and the scene of Maya and Nick arguing almost KILLED me. X-X_

_Anyway, writting Klavier's dialouge was incredibly fun, because German is my first language. Making fun of ones own language is really amusing. ^^ And, yes, "Fräulein" is actually written with an Umlaut. Also, to somebody actually speaking German, Klavier's use of this word makes him sound old, rather than cool, since nobody except 60 years old granpas are using this word anymore nowadays. "Junge Frau" (Young Lady) or just "Frau" are much more commonly in use now. I should probably mention that Klavier's use of a foreign language is completly gone in the German version of the game, where he just refers to Trucy as "Fräulein" for no apparent reason and calls Apollo "Stirni" ("Foreheady") instead of "Herr Forehead". _

_The first song Maya sings was written by me to the melody of Phoenix' Objection Theme from the first game. Writting song lyrics for Video Game music has always been a little hobby of mine, but I normally wouldn't use them in fanfictions. It's just that it's of plot importance here. If you want to know what this song is supposed to sound like, I'd suggest you google the "Magical Trick Society"'s remix of the Objection theme, because I used exactly this when I wrote the lyrics._

_As you may have noticed, I love Psyche-Locks. They are just... awesome. ^^ And come with some incredibly cool music! :-D_


	8. Alone

**?**

"Wait up, you guys! Hold on a sec!"

"Ah... Could you be any slower, Phoenix?"

"Yeah, Nick! We don't slow down, you speed up!"

"Hey... I only have two legs, you know..."

_(And you're not the one carrying everyone's stuff...)_

That was no fair! Larry was supposed to lag behind. He usually always did! But nooo….not today. I just can't ever say 'No' to anyone and I ended up playing the porter for the two of them. Why me?

Miles was already standing on the hilltop searching the ground, probably for bugs or plants with thorns or something. He didn't really like to just set up everything without checking first.

"Hm, this is a nice place... Hey, Phoenix, would you please hand me the blanket?"

"W-Wait, I'm not there yet...!"

"Hm?" He turned around towards me and looked a little resentful when he discovered that I wasn't even halfway up the hill yet. "Ah... Seriously, Phoenix, are you planning on getting up here before the sun sets, or..."

"You guys could help me!" I shouted up to them "Especially you, Larry!"

Larry was not exactly happy to hear this.

"Ah? Why me!"

"I've been carrying all the stuff all the way up here! Miles brought us here and his dad drove us, but _you_ haven't done a thing yet, that's why!"

"He has a good point." Miles told Larry and I was really happy to hear that. "You go down there and help Phoenix get the stuff up."

"H-Hey!" Larry grinned a little nervously. "I mean...Nick's a man! He can take this, I'm sure he can."

Miles shook his head. "I'm not so sure about it."

"Yes!" I shouted up to them nodding. "... Hey, wait..."

_(Why did I answer that with 'Yes'? Oh, I didn't think before opening my mouth, that's why...)_

Miles threw Larry a glance with half closed eyes.

"Larry..."

"Argh… Always me!"

He still didn't seem too happy about it, but Larry finally came down and helped me get the two heavy backpacks up the hill. Finally, we could set up for a picnic. It didn't take us long since all three of us were working together now. It was fun, at least compared to having to carry two full backpacks all by myself...

"Awesome!" I looked all over the food we had put on the blanket. "Let's eat, you guys! I'm starving!"

"Count me in!" Larry's eyes were shining and his mouth was wide open.

The only who didn't seem to be in a hurry to start eating was Miles. "Shouldn't we plan where we go after lunch first, so we don't waste too much time running in circles later?"

"Ah, that's easy!" Larry claimed. "I know a great spot not far away from here by the river with a perfect tree to climb! I go there a lot with my cousin!"

"I didn't know you could climb, Larry." I stated a little surprised, already reaching for a slice of bread with my hand, even though Miles didn't say that we could start yet. Larry just grinned at me.

"Uhm, Heheh... I never said I was the one doing the climbing. I only said that it's great for climbing."

Unimpressed, Miles sighed. "In other words, you usually spend your time down there watching your cousin climbing a tree."

"Sometimes I throw stuff up for her! ... She rarely ever catches though..."

"So it's decided, we go to the place with the tree after lunch!" I said rather quickly. "Now..."

I didn't wait for the others anymore now. After all, I had more than one good reason to be tired and hungry. After dragging up all this stuff here, I had a right to eat it! So I opened my mouth and took a big bite...

I just had chewed three or four times when I opened my eyes again and saw something... someone.

There was someone at the foot of the hill... A girl in a weird, pink bathrobe...

I let go of the sandwich in my hand. The girl was looking at me... She was looking right at me for sure!

I became a little nervous as the girl kept staring at me in an unnerving way.

And then she moved her lips and formed a word. But I couldn't hear her.

"...What did you say...?"

"Hm? Is something wrong, Phoenix?"

Mile's voice surprised me. I turned towards him.

"It's that girl over there... I think she's talking to me!"

"Hm? Girl?" Miles tilted his head a little bit. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, she's-"

I stopped. The spot I was pointing at was empty. Confused, I let my hand sink again.

"She's... gone?"

"You're just seeing things, Nick!" Larry told me with half a sandwich in his mouth, so I had a little trouble understanding what he said. "There was nobody. Believe me, if there'd been a girl here, I would have noticed!"

"I think I have to agree with him for once." Miles shrugged and sighed. "You're probably tired. Just eat something and try to relax."

"Y-Yeah…"

I said that, yes, but I didn't actually believe that I really had just imagined her. She had looked way too real...

I closed my eyes and took another bite of my sandwich. When I opened them again...

I stopped chewing.

There she was. Right next to the bush behind Miles. And again, she was staring at me. Her eyes made me feel so unsettled... I put down my sandwich and looked at me. She moved her lips again. And this time, I actually heard what she said.

"Mr. Nick..."

"Huh...?"

Slowly, I got really nervous. Why did this girl know my nickname...? I was thinking about walking over and asking her when she, all of a sudden, just turned around and ran away.

"H-Hey! Wait!"

"Phoenix?"

"Hey, Nick, where're ya going?"

I had jumped up from the blanket and was now running down the hill. I had to catch up with that girl. I had to ask her something... even though I didn't know what exactly I would ask her. I chased her all across the meadow, right to pretty much the centre, where she suddenly stood still. I stopped as well. The girl didn't do anything now for a little while. And I just stood there and watched her, as her weird clothes moved forth and back in the breeze.

It was late spring, so the wind was warm and the flowers in the meadow were in full bloom. The girl was standing right in a field of roses, tulips and sunflowers...

_(...How weird. Do those three ever grow side by side?)_

I couldn't really tell... I knew pretty much nothing about flowers. I only knew what tulips and sunflowers looked like. And, roses too, because pretty much everybody knows that name. Others… I couldn't even tell apart... I didn't really like biology. Actually, I hated it. I usually copied my biology tests from Miles… But don't tell him that!

The girl was still barely moving, except for her braided hair and clothes in the draft. She looked a little bit like an Asian princess or priestess from a storybook...

I decided to try talk to her.

"Hello...you?"

She didn't react...

"...Can I help you? ... Who are you?"

"Mr. Nick..."

Finally, the girl turned around. Her big, brown eyes focused on mine right away. Her face was still exactly the same as before. The exact same stare.

"Mr. Nick..." she repeated once again. "...why won't you answer?"

"Huh?" Confused, I didn't reply right away. I tilted my head a little. "Excuse me, but did you ask me a question earlier..?" I finally said. I couldn't remember if she did. "And why are you calling me 'Mister'? I'm not even old enough to drive yet..."

The girl seemed to ignore what I said.

"Mr. Nick... Why won't you answer the call?"

"The... The call?"

I started looking around, sharpening my ears... Was there a phone ringing anywhere? But even if there was, why should I answer it? It couldn't be mine... I didn't have my own phone yet. Miles had one, but not me...

"Mystic Maya has been calling and calling you... Why won't you answer, Mr. Nick?"

"Mystic...Maya?"

I looked up. Maya… Did I know anyone with that name? It ringed a bell at least...

"Uhm... Look, tell her that I'm sorry!" I told the girl. "I will ask Mom about that right when I get home! If that 'Maya' has really called me, I'll call her back soon, promise!"

"Why didn't you yet?" And still, she kept looking at me with that intense stare. "Mr. Nick... Are you a liar?"

"W-What?" Baffled, I backed off a little bit. Where did that come from...? "No! Of course not! I don't lie!"

"But you lied." The girl told me as she came closer to me with slow steps. "They all say you lied. And when you told Mystic Maya that we would all stay friends... that was a lie too, right?"

"W-What are you talking about?" I shook my head a bit. "I wouldn't lie! I don't know who told you that, but they're wrong! I... I didn't..."

"And why are you afraid of answering then?"

Holding my head with my hands, I shook once again and then replied to the girl. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about! I didn't lie! Least of all to a friend!"

"How can I know you're not lying about this too?"

"I _told _you! I am not!" I told her again. "Please... believe me!"

"Pearly... leave him alone."

And then, there was this woman.

She was just... there behind the girl all of a sudden. A young woman with long, black hair in the same, weird clothes as her, placing her hands on the little girl's shoulders:

"Just leave Nick be, Pearly." she said with a very fake smile. "If he doesn't want to talk to me..." She tilted her head and closed her eyes... They had been wet, so tears rolled down her cheeks when she let her lids sink. "...that's alright!"

_(Is she... crying because of me? ...)_

I wanted to say something, but my voice wouldn't work. And as soon as I had come up with words to tell her... they were gone again.

"It's probably my fault anyway, right?" the woman with the fake smile and the wet eyes said. "I'm so weak... I can't even handle the least bit of pressure. I have always been useless and everyone around me has been hurt, just because I failed again and again... I let Mia die... I let my mother die... and when the people I like need me the most, I'm not there... Talk about misfortune... Hey, maybe I should start a club with Maggey! Ha...Ha... Ha..."

"Maya..."

'You're not useless!' I wanted to say, but my voice failed to work, _again_, and I only moved my mouth without making a sound. 'Maya, you're not useless, you've helped me so many times! Please don't cry!' I wanted to say. But she heard not a single one of my words.

She turned around and took the little girl's hand.

"Let's go Pearly..."

"No."

The girl let go of her hand.

"Mystic Maya, he lied. He's a liar."

"Pearly, don't say that." The woman told her softly. "It's not a nice thing to say."

"But it's true!" The little girl claimed.

"No!" Suddenly, my voice was back. "I would never lie or hurt a friend! Not even if I tried!"

"But you lied. They all say so."

As the girl said this, the woman had already turned around and was now leaving.

"Maya!" I shouted. "Wait, Maya! Don't go away!"

"Mystic Maya has always believed in you, Mr. Nick..." The girl suddenly said and I turned my head back at her. She didn't blink, didn't move anything aside from her mouth.

"You lied to Mystic Maya too, right?"

"N-No..."

"What? Nick lied?"

This was Larry's voice. I turned around and there he stood, arms behind his head and eyes wandering around confusedly. "Eh...No way! Or... way?"

"Larry!"

"Sorry Nick, but on second thought..." He grinned. "It's not _that _hard to imagine! Heh..."

"How can you say that?" I asked him. "We're friends! You should know that I'd not... I'd never..."

"Phoenix." Miles stood beside him. He looked at me with crossed arms. "Yes, we are friends, but what are we supposed to think of this if you don't tell us what really happened?"

"B-But I have no idea what happened!" I replied and pointed at the girl. "Why don't you ask her? She's the one accusing me after all!"

"Are you trying to tell me that you can't even defend yourself anymore?" Miles asked me. "I expected more from you, of all people."

"S-Stop this!" I shouted. "I... I am not a liar! I didn't lie to anyone! I didn't!"

"But they all say you did." The little girl's voice said behind me.

I covered my face with my hands and tried not to show anyone how hurt I was. I am a boy and boys don't cry. Especially not in front of girls. Or in front of their friends.

"Who are 'they'?" I finally asked. "Who claims something like this?"

And the girl answered.

"Just look around, Mr. Nick."

I opened my eyes.

And there 'they' were. All around me. My whole class was staring at me. Every last one of them. And the teacher too. My heart raced.

_(No... Please… Not again...)_

I knew this situation. I knew it so well, it hurt even to just think about it. And now… Was it happening again? All over again?

The voices around me had already started talking.

"He did it! It's so obvious!"

"Can't believe he'd sink _this _low!"

I turned my head down and looked at the floor.

_(Why? …S-Stop that...)_

"How could he ever think he would get away with that?"

"We should have known that there was something wrong all along!"

"Yeah! Like someone like him could actually be that good!"

I pressed my hands against my ears and tried not to listen, but the voices didn't get any quieter...

"He's probably been doing it like this all the time!"

My eyes got wet.

_(Help me... somebody... help...)_

"What a giant cheater!"

_(Please...)_

"What are we waiting for? Let's just get this over with and find him guilty!"

"Yeah, I think so too!"

"Guilty! He's guilty for sure!"

I knew what was supposed to happen now. I knew that this was the point where this one voice, this single and only voice in the whole room would rise up to help me. The moment where somebody would tell me that they believe in me...

But it didn't come. The objection I waited for wasn't raised. No one came forward. There... was no miracle. No turnabout. No resurrection.

_(Why won't they believe me...? Why isn't anybody objecting...?)_

I looked around...

And suddenly, I noticed that I wasn't in a classroom. This was a courtroom. And the people around me weren't children. They were adults... Staring at me with angry, almost glowing eyes. Not a single one of them showed even the least bit of mercy.

They kept chanting...

'GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!'...

Every last one of them...

_(Why...)_

...and not a single voice...

_(Why... Why...?)_

...not even one of them objected.

I finally screamed.

"_**Why won't anybody help me?"**_

As loud as I could. I screamed until the voices stopped. I just wanted them all to shut up. Just... shut up... and...

"You're such a crybaby, Phoenix."

"Huh?"

I looked up. Miles was there right in front of me.

"I thought you were able to handle a few petty blows on your own by now." He told me with a disappointed face.

"B-But..." my whole body trembled and I couldn't talk without stuttering. "I... I was all... all..."

"Why are you weeping?" Miles asked me.

I looked up to him... all the way up to the man in front of me.

"You never gave up when others needed your help... I would have never thought that you would give up on _yourself_ this easily, Wright."

"E-Edgeworth..."

All I could do was stand there and look at Edgeworth as he waited for me to say something. I wanted to say something, to excuse and explain myself... But I couldn't come up with anything.

Silence reigned until someone from behind suddenly spoke to me.

"Oh, you're crying already?"

I turned around and faced the one who said this. A young woman with dark brown hair. She approached me with slow steps and smiled.

"Well, I guess it really is over then, isn't it? Looks like I was a little too late..."

"Over? ..." I asked confused.

Mia came closer and, finally, bent down to me, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Somebody very dear to me once said that the only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over." She said. "So, tell me Phoenix... did you already give up?"

"M-Mia..."

"Because... if you really did..."

Her smile didn't waver. Not one bit...

"_Then I'm afraid I came here for nothing."_

_

* * *

_

**May 2****nd**** 5:57am**

**Gatewater Hotel**

"...!"

My eyes opened and I didn't know where I was.

_(Mia...where is she...? Mia was talking to me just a moment ago...!)_

That was the first thing that came to my mind. Only gradually and after I took a look at my surroundings in the dark room did the remaining pieces fill in. I started to grasp where I was and what exactly had happened...

...Gatewater Hotel... I had checked in here... Then I went to sleep...

Then it all came back to me. My whole situation...

"Ahh..."

I let my upper body fall back into the soft pillow. A nightmare. This whole thing had been nothing more than a terrible, terrible nightmare. Thank goodness...

_(Wait...)_

I leaped up. Throwing away the blanket, I turned on the lamp on the nightstand, stood up, searched the floor for my suitcase, picked it up and opened it. My belongings almost literally leapt at me when I did, because I had removed the cover too hastily, but I somehow avoided spilling the contents across the floor. I started searching through everything.

"... Ungh..."

I sighed disappointed when I found the Prosecutor's badge to still be there. So not everything had been a dream...

Now that I had reassured myself of this, I allowed me to become more aware of my current situation again:

One day ago, I went from Defense Attorney to Prosecutor overnight for no apparent reason. Most of my friends hated me and those who didn't were dead, pretty disappointed by me or living on instant noodles. Also, I would have to prosecute in a trial against a woman who I knew to be not guilty for sure today and had barely prepared for this...

Finally, I had Psyche Locks on me for some reason. Even though this should be absolutely impossible, since this would basically mean that I was keeping secrets from myself... and now the class Trial and Fey Women were haunting me in my dreams...

_(Argh! Just how am I supposed to figure out the meaning behind all of this? I'm a lawyer, not Sigmund Freud! Gimme a break, life...)_

At least I could be sure about one thing: Not only had I suddenly ended up in a DL-6-less world with no explanation, there was also something wrong with _me_...

Going right back to sleep now would have seemed like a very pleasant option hadn't it been for the very likely possibility of ending up in that horrifying dream again if I did. The memory of it alone was enough to make me shudder, so I decided that this bed had seen enough use for the night. But what should I do now, so early in the morning...? It was still dark outside after all.

_(How late is it anyway?)_

I took a look at the clock on my cell phone's display and saw that it read exactly "6:00 am". That was really a bit early, especially for my taste. Still, I had decided to not go back to sleep and was not going to change that decision.

After sitting on the bed and staring holes into the air for several minutes, I finally got up to do something. Anything at all.

I took a look out of the window and eyed the streets as well as the neighboring houses. There was light behind exactly two windows of the building across the street. A little bit of thinking and I realized with slight surprise that those were my office's windows. Was Edgeworth up already? Probably working... Maybe reading some of his juristic books... taking care of paper work... doing other kinds of work I had never quite managed to do...

I tried to peek through the windows and see what he was doing, but the angle was too sharp and I could only see the corner where Charlie was actually supposed to reside. It was probably for the better anyway. Seeing him working twice more efficiently than I ever had would only have depressed me, especially now that I had absolutely no idea what to do with my time...

Argh... what was I thinking? I had a trial today! There had to be something I could prepare! It was just that I couldn't think of anything at the moment. I had already checked all pieces of evidence thrice. I couldn't go investigate on the crime scene again, since Edgeworth had the key card. Checking on the client was out of question too, since she was, for once, not _my _client.

_(Hm... Now that I think about it… Since I'm the Prosecutor, shouldn't I have gotten the autopsy report, as well as all the other results of the police's and the forensic scientist's investigations? Weird... Huh? Why won't the cell phone's screen dim down again? Hm... A blinking envelope symbol on the scr- Oh.)_

I finally realized it: I had a text message on my cellphone. It first struck me as weird, since I couldn't remember hearing this phone ring ever since I received Edgeworth's call the day before. So when did I get this message? Or rather… 'Messages'.

'_You've got 3 new messages_.' The screen read.

_(Three? So many at once? How did I miss them all?)_

Curious, I finally pressed the button and waited for the message-select screen to open up…

Immediately, three highlighted names appeared on the phone's display. They were, as follows:

_*) Ema_

_*) Chief_

_*) Det. Gumshoe_

The phone almost slipped out of my hand when I read this. _Ema_… Ema had sent me another message before she died? I didn't notice this! How did this get past me…?

The time was given as "16:10" on the screen…

_(That was when I was unconscious…) _I remembered.

The last text message Ema sent before her murder… Was it this? Her true dying message?

I had to see it. Right now. My fingers shook like crazy, but I somehow still managed to hit the "read" button. The window popped up on the display, revealing what Ema had written:

'_Alright! I'll be there, promise! See ya! :-) '_

"…"

_(Well that sure was anticlimactic.) _

I felt stupid. There I had been seriously thinking that Ema maybe had managed to type me some details about her murderer, when she actually had only wanted to reassure me that she was going to come. This was so awkward… especially since I only found this message now. Now that the poor girl was dead… The emoticon she had added now seemed to be taunting her.

'_See ya'_. Hah. Yeah, '_see her'_ indeed. See her sitting on the floor, slowly and painfully suffering and dying in her own blood… The image still wouldn't go away. It was especially jarring for me because I still found it scary how much she had resembled the dead Mia when she sat there… Was this another one of the universe's tries to drown me in an overdose of irony? I didn't find it funny. Not at all.

I was about to just hit the 'delete' button and try to forget that I ever saw this when I remembered that it would probably be a better idea to keep the message. After all, this proved that Ema had still been perfectly fine around 4pm. It could prove useful in court today.

Next, I returned to the message-select screen and moved the cursor to the next highlighted name: "Chief".

_(Chief…)_

Immediately Mia came to my mind, but then I remembered our conversation the other day and realized that the person who must have sent me this message was someone else: Lana.

And the time was given as… "16:14".

_(Another one from when I was out cold… Didn't Edgeworth mind my phone ringing all the time?)_

I opened the message.

'_Mr. Wright, come to Hickfield clinic as fast as possible, please.'_

_(Huh…? Now that's weird…) _I thought. _(Why should she want me to go to the hospital…?)_

There was still more message left. I read on:

'_I just received a call from Ema's phone. _

_She had an encounter with a Hit-and-Run driver on the way to visit you. _

_Fortunately, she wasn't wounded badly, but she won't be able to leave the hospital for some time. Since she still insists on meeting you, you'll have to come here._

_Sincerely, Lana Skye.'_

_(…What?)_

For a few seconds, I stared at the screen baffled.

Now that made absolutely _no _sense whatsoever!

_(A Hit-and-Run driver… What, What, What? But Ema __**came **__to my Apartment! …Which means that this message is a complete lie. But this doesn't make sense either… Why would Lana try to make me think that her sister was in the hospital?__Ungh…)_

The more I thought about it, the more unlikely the possible explanations for this gigantic contradiction became. Finally, my head started to ache and I let it be. I would just keep this message and remember it once I found out anything that could possibly explain it…

It was time to take a look at the last message. The one from Gumshoe.

The timestamp said "20:24". I tried to come up with why exactly I hadn't noticed this one arriving, and finally remembered that I had been on that rather disturbing _Journey To The Centre Of My Mind _at that time. Naturally I didn't notice my phone ringing when there was 200 Decibels worth of music around me, not to mention five weird Psyche Locks laughing at me.

_(Now, if that message says what I guess it says, that would explain why I didn't get the… Ah, yes, I knew it.)_

"_Mr. Wright, I called you a few minutes back, but you didn't answer. I decided it'd be best to just text you. Here I go: _

_We've finally got the results of the autopsy. The report about the investigations too. _

_You can come pick them up whenever you like, I can also bring them to you if you want, just tell me! _

_Oh, and I gave Mr. Edgeworth a copy of those too, since you asked me to help him. He seemed a little shocked when I handed them to him, so I told him that you asked me to do it… I hope you don't mind. _

_P.S.: Thanks for You-Know-What! I really owe you! "_

So much for why I hadn't got the autopsy report yet. I would have to remember to go pick it up and study it before going to court. Also, hadn't Gumshoe mentioned a witness the day before? I'd have to question her as well…

From what the Detective had told me, the girl was apparently a teenager… A 'MAYOI' Fan who had visited the concert the day before. I remembered the screaming fangirls and suddenly didn't feel like questioning that person at all. Not that I had a choice, of course. Witness was witness, no matter how weird, unpleasant or just downright insane they were.

Now that I was finished with going through the messages, I was, once again, out of things to do. Boredom struck again and hard. It was Thursday, six in the morning… Just what could I possibly do? Gumshoe probably wasn't even up yet, so I couldn't call and ask him to bring me the reports. There was a television in the room, but I wasn't in the mood for watching reruns of sitcoms or cheap cartoons and the chance that there was anything else on right now was rather low. A little desperate, I picked up the service list from the table and browsed through the options. Finally, I decided to just order myself breakfast. I picked up the room's phone and made the call. Not that this had taken care of my boredom…

I then realized that a bellboy would soon be coming up here now and that I was still in Pajamas. Changing into normal clothing was probably the best idea now. A short trip to the room's bathroom and I had taken care of this too. Before I knew it, I found myself sitting on the bed again, doing absolutely nothing. Another look at the watch… 6:15am. Somehow, time just wouldn't pass. I sighed.

_(Why isn't Maya around when I need her? I can't stand being all by myself…)_

I was a little surprised when I found myself thinking this since I was sure that I would have thought the exact opposite if Maya had actually been here right now. I then guessed that this probably was because you only start to appreciate what you had once you've lost it…

_(Hm, what could I do now? Well, I have the court record, a cell phone I can barely use, a television, paper, a pencil…)_

As I thought this, I suddenly remembered how much I had loved drawing in high school… This had also been the reason why I had chosen Art as my primary subject when I first studied at Ivy University… Law had actually originally been just my second. My encounter with Mia and the rumors about Edgeworth had finally caused my interest to shift enough for me to drop art and focus on law alone… I hadn't tried drawing again ever since then.

_(Hm… I wonder…)_

I took a look at the desk in the room's corner and nodded. Picking up the pencil, the sharpener and a few sheets of paper, I sat down at the desk and started sketching.

I didn't really think when I drew. I just did what came to me and let my thoughts wander off in the meantime. Where exactly my thoughts ventured to then… I can't really tell. I don't remember. I just kind of… drifted off, as my hand kept leading the pencil across the paper. Line for line for line…

Finally, a knock caused me to jerk and brought me back to reality.

_(Oh… The breakfast I ordered, I guess.)_

Without looking at my sheet of paper, I stood up and hurried to the door, where the bellboy was already waiting for me with the heavy tray. I politely took over, thanked him and gave him a tip. He left and I, carrying the tray, returned back to the desk. Fried Eggs, Ham, Orange Juice, Coffee… at least I had something to eat now. I sat down and already wanted to pour myself some coffee, when I caught a glance of my sketch.

_(…Hey…)_

Only now I realized what I had drawn. I picked the sketch up and took a good look at it. It was obvious from first glance that I was absolutely out of practice. The whole picture was off, off, off. But this was not what had surprised me. No, actually, it had been the motive.

It was Maya, Pearls and me. On a boat…

_(Oh yeah…) _I remembered now. _(…We went rowing in Gatewaterland together not too long ago, right? I had completely forgotten about this…)_

It now came back to me… It had been my idea. Maya had been quite down ever since we put Iris's trial behind us, so I told her that I'd finally fulfill this old promise I had made to her at Lake Gourd once... Back, when I had told her I would take her out rowing. When I searched for some place where we could do so- Lake Gourd itself was out of question, given all the unpleasant memories connected to it- Pearls showed me the flyer of this new theme park and demanded me to go there with Maya. Something about a bridge and eternal love… To be honest, I didn't really listen to what she was talking about, but I pretended to.

Of course, it had ended with me doing all the rowing while Maya and Pearl apparently tried with all their might to make us capsize, but we still had a lot of fun there together. If I remember correctly, we had even spotted Edgeworth passing by… On the bridge Pearls had mentioned. With a girl. Naturally, Pearls started swooning over what a powerful thing love is and how not even 'the strong Mr. Edgeworth' could hide from it. I, however, right away had my doubts that this girl was anything even close to his girlfriend. For one, she had looked barely older than Maya. Actually, even younger than her. Also, Edgeworth was not the type for this kind of relationship – _don't think of Dahlia, don't think of Dahlia_ – Not at all. Maya herself went on to nickname Edgeworth's anonymous companion from that day "Mystery Bird Girl" because of that striking, wing like scarf she had been wearing. Come to think of it, I still hadn't got to ask him who that girl had actually been… And I also wouldn't get to do this now since this all had now technically never happened.

_(Why did I draw this…?)_

…Stupid question. Because I was missing the girls, of course…

"…Huh?"

Familiar bleeps ripped me out of my thoughts. The cell phone… Since it was still right beside me on the desk, one single move with my arm was enough to pick it up and take the call.

"Hello. Phoenix Wright here. Who am I talking to?"

A deep voice greeted me from the other end of the line.

"Mr. Wright! It's me, Detective Gumshoe!"

_(Gumshoe…? This early in the morning?)_

He sounded pretty nervous. Confused, I took a look at the clock. Was I already late…? No, the trial was set for 10:00am and right now it was just 6:43am. So why was he calling me?

"Where are you right now?" Gumshoe went on to ask me, the tension in his voice not loosening one bit.

"Gatewater Hotel." I answered "I… just got up an hour ago. Why do you ask?"

Gumshoe seemed a little shocked when he heard that. "Gatewater Hotel? But that's, like, at the other end of town!"

"Uhm… as opposed to where…?" I asked a little confused.

"You need to come to the 3rd floor lobby in the courthouse! We've got some problems here, Sir! ...Uhm… I mean…"

The tone in his voice had finally changed. Now, he sounded upset. Not exactly better than before, actually.

"… I called you 'Sir' again, right? ...Sorry…"

"Never mind that now!" I tried to bring him back on-topic. "Anyway, what kind of problems were you talking about?"

"Oh, right! The witness just arrived!"

_The witness._

My eyes widened and I slapped my forehead with my hand. Of course. The witness. Gumshoe had told me she would arrive at the courthouse at 7:00… I had absolutely forgotten about that!

"You need to come here quickly, Sir! We've… got some trouble with that girl!"

"Some trouble?" I asked.

"Uhm, she came half an hour early, but now she threatens to just leave if nobody comes to question her in twenty…" The pause here told me, that he was taking a look at his watch "Uhm… fifteen minutes."

"_What?_" I gasped. "She can't just leave! She's the only witness we got! Stop her!"

"That's easier said than done!" He suddenly started whispering, so I guess the witness was right behind him at the moment. "She's scary, I tell ya… Keeps glaring at us with this kind of look that makes you think she was gonna kill you any second… I think she's grumpy because we called her in so soon in the morning…"

_(Heh. Well, sounds like she was a candidate for being the killer.) _I thought to myself, knowing from experience that this joke could just as well turn out to be true. Still, I couldn't say anything yet, since I hadn't interrogated her yet.

"We won't be able to keep her here for much longer, I think! She keeps claiming she has 'no obligation' to be here. Do you get this?"

_(What… Argh, yes, that's right!) _I suddenly remembered. _(In cases like this one, the Prosecution is empowered to summon witnesses to court, not the police. She really has no obligation to stay when I didn't personally order her to! …Oh… Oh.)_

I was more than just surprised that this girl was seriously thinking of using this law. Witnesses usually didn't even know that it existed. She must have informed herself beforehand…

I had to be fast now. If I didn't arrive before that girl decided to make use of her right and just go home again, chances were high that I wouldn't get another chance to question her before the trial.

"Alright, I will be there as fast as I can!" I answered into the phone, shaking my head nervously: "Gumshoe, whatever you do, make sure that this teenager doesn't leave! I _need _her to stay, you hear me?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Sir! Uhm...Oops"

Gumshoe seemed embarrassed now. I guess he just couldn't help it. Adding 'Sir' or 'Pal' to his sentences was just how he talked. He probably didn't even know how to form a real sentence without this…

He correcting himself all the time was starting to annoy me… a bit more than him calling me 'Sir' actually, but just a little bit.

"Just find a way to entertain that girl." I told him.

"Got ya, si-… Uhm…" He laughed nervously "I mean… eh… heh…heh…"

My forehead encountered my palm once again and I decided to just give in and finally end this:

"You know what?" I sighed into the phone. "Just call me 'Pal'."

Gumshoe wasn't even trying to hide his childlike excitement when he answered to this.

"I-I can call you that? Really? Wow… Thanks a lot, Pal!"

I had already prepared myself to pity my lost respect and expected to immediately regret allowing him to call me that right when he would first used that phrase when addressing me. But when I heard this last sentence I, much to my surprise felt… really relieved. Like something broken had been fixed…

I then realized that Gumshoe calling me 'Pal' had become something so normal for me by now that him not doing it was enough to make me feel unsettled, because it was just… not normal.

It actually felt comfortable now. Like a little bit of normality had just returned to the world. And after the kind of day I had yesterday, this little bit of normality was incredibly satisfying.

* * *

_**Overview (Currently in Court Record)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge__  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama__  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

_*) Suicide Note  
_Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

"I have decided to put an end to both our miseries here and now.

Now, neither of us will have to live with the shame and pain.

Let us meet again, my sweet sister.

And please, forgive me.

Lana Skye."

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood. Slightly smudged on the left side, but otherwise relatively clean.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright__  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and probably a Spirit Medium in this 'world'. Was apparently my girlfriend up until recently.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

* * *

_Behold! My love for creepy dream sequences! XD Did I ever mention that I am a fan of mindrape of all kind? ^^ _

_I'm so glad I got to write the Nick-Larry-Miles Trio, even though it was just for a short scene. ^^ I love imagining what those three were like in school. I imagine Misty Fey's theme "Simple Melody" playing during the scene where Phoenix encounters Pearl on the Meadow, right till the faux-class-trial. You can, of course, imagine it with every kind of music you like. I will sit back while you try to figgure out this dreams meaning. ^^ Even though a few parts are probably not that hard to unreavel..._

_Yeah... I have to admit, not much happened besides this. The scene in Gatewater Hotel was just there for... the sake of being there. Well, actually, I needed it, but I still feel bad for not giving you more than this. Actually, the interrogation of the Witness was supposed to happen in this chapter, but it would have turned out longer than 20 pages if I hadn't split it and I didn't want that. That's, by the way, also the reason why this chapter has such a lame ending. There was supposed to be another scene afterwards. Well, now that other scene is its own chapter..._

_Ace Attorney Investigations Reference. Because I love mentioning those little cameos. For those who don't get what I am refering too, there's an easteregg in case 5-3, which allows you to see Phoenix, Maya and Pearl rowing by on a boat in the background. Edgeworth doesn't directly mention them, but he suddenly starts talking about how the prospect says that the bridge he is currently standing brings lovebirds eternal happines and Kay will go on to say that they probably shouldn't investigate on how much of that is true. With Nick, Maya and Pearly, of all people, in the background, this exchange was hilarious. _

_Since I like drawing a lot, I made a (deliberately crappy) sketch of ... Phoenix' sketch. That's when I got an idea: Why not make drawings of everything in my court record here, which you could usually use the "check" option on in the games? This way, I don't need to give incredibly obvious hints in the describtions, you can go try and find the contradictions with your own eyes! Therefor, I'll copy-paste the court record section into my profil and provide links to pictures there. For now, you'll only find the Boat-Sketch in there, but other things, like the victim note or the suicide note will soon follow!_

_Read you soon! ;-)  
_


	9. Not Pleased

**May 2****nd**** 7:11am**

**District Court**

While exiting the taxi after a quarter hour long ride, my mind was with that poor, untouched breakfast I had left behind in the hotel. I rushed to the Courthouse so quickly that I didn't even get to take a single sip of coffee, not to mention a bite from the eggs. My stomach protested loudly when I entered the building, but it wasn't exactly like I had a choice. I was already more than 10 minutes late and our witness was apparently a very unpleasant person. Not that I wasn't used to unpleasant witnesses, but I had to question her as thoroughly as possible before the trial started at any cost. I had to keep in mind that I wouldn't get to cross examine her in court this time- This would be up to Edgeworth.

Of course, I could just join in on the examination, Prosecutors did this now and then after all, but I was sure that it would seem pretty suspicious if I did it right away. I wanted Lana to be found Not Guilty, yet I also knew that Edgeworth was right with his claim that just plainly trying to lose on purpose was a bad idea for several reasons. One of them was the judge. He was sure a little gullible, but he had seen enough prosecutors yet to know that it's absolutely abnormal for them to just go with everything the Defense claims without raising even a single objection. With Lana being 'my' mentor, this would quickly bring the fact that I was not really trying to get the job done right to everyone's attention and the trial would probably be postponed and continued another day- with a different Prosecutor. There were enough others.

My only hope was to find enough flaws in the witness's testimony before the trial started. I'd just question the heck out of her until it became clear that her testimony did everything but prove that Lana had tried to commit murder and suicide. I'd then declare her testimony unnecessary, send her home and lead the trial without a witness. And since the only other ones who had anything to testify about the case were Edgeworth, Lana and Myself, aka Defense, Defendant and Prosecution, all not fit to count as objective witnesses in court, this case would become as easy as pie to win for the Defense, even if I tried to play the big bad, scary Prosecutor. After all, I had only a few pieces of evidence and I knew that Edgeworth would manage to dispel all of them. He always conducted his investigations very carefully.

Trying to find the witness, I found myself entering the Defendant Lobbies twice, only to leave right again when I saw the yawning emptiness awaiting me there.

_(3__rd__ floor Lobby!) _I told myself. _(I'm not meeting a client, I'm meeting a witness and she's waiting in the 3__rd__ floor Lobby!) _

Finally, I was at the right door. I put my hand down to the doorknob and sighed when I caught a glance of a nearby clock.

_(7:15… I hope Gumshoe managed to keep her from leaving.)_

I pushed the door and stepped inside. Well, that means, I wanted to step inside, but something stopped me. Or, rather, someone. Someone who bumped right into my stomach, throwing me down to the floor in the process.

"ARGH!"

"OUCH!"

I wasn't too sure what happened, but I guessed that someone's elbow rammed right into my guts when they tried to leave the room. My empty stomach now had yet another reason to spout out its very own kind of loud objections and I was just glad that the impact hadn't hit me a few inches… lower. This would have been incredibly painful otherwise.

The second yell had been a girl's voice. This fact was reconfirmed by the very same voice starting to mutter something in front of me.

"Ungh… This is… really…

I spent a few split seconds longer rubbing where it hurt, before I opened my eyes again and saw the person in front of me, still muttering.

"…Argh… You….Can't you living bulldozer watch where you're going?

The girl jumped up from the floor and started glaring at me as soon as she managed to get a glance of me.

"You deaf? Outta my way!"

"Uhm…"

Usually, I would have gotten up and moved right away now, so I could avoid any further conversation with this kind of person, but quite a few things told me that this would be a bad idea now.

Why? Well…

Teenage Girl? Check. Unfriendly Attitude? Check. In Hurry to leave the Courthouse? Check.

And why else should she be here this early in the morning?

_(Congratulation Mr. Wright, you found yourself your witness…Hurray…)_

Something told me that this was gonna be a long, long interrogation. Gumshoe hadn't been exaggerating when he described her. No, not at all. This girl was far from being the incarnation of sunshine and happiness. I mentioned that she was 'glaring' at me, but maybe that was the wrong word. To be exact, she wasn't even really looking at me. Just peeking from the corners of her eyes, in a way that made it seem like she was deeming me unworthy to see her irises or pupils.

Actually, she would have been quite cute. Blonde, curly hair in two pigtails, unusually big eyes, round face, clover shaped buttons on her clothes… Admittedly, her build seemed otherwise a little too developed for her age. Based on certain aspects, she could have passed for a short 18-year-old easily. But aside from that, on the surface she really fit the typical image of an adorable schoolgirl to the tee.

Adorable, however, she was not. To blame for that was mostly that grumpy look on her face. That look that pretty much said "Go. Die. Now." I really hoped that she was only looking like that right now because I had knocked her over, but something told me that this was actually her default expression. Maybe it was the fact that she was so incredibly good at doing it…

So this was her. The one witness Detective Gumshoe could find.

I gulped. This girl… I suddenly realized that I had seen her before… somewhere…

And, surprisingly, I found myself _not _drawing a blank when I tried to recall where.

"Y-You!" I pointed at her "You're the girl from yesterday... The one I…"

"Rammed onto the floor like a drunken Truck Driver? Yeah, you seem to be making a habit out of that. Hmpf!"

She grunted and turned her head away.

_(Oh yes… now I remember.) _I bit my lip. _(I ran into her before, right? Quite literally, actually…)_

She was the neighbor girl, whom I had seen both times I had been in the Apartment building. I should have guessed it before… I saw her run back to her Apartment when Edgeworth and I arrived after all. She was probably hurrying to the phone to report the screams.

"Alright, would you now be so kind and scram, so I can finally go home?" the girl hissed at me, not changing her expression one bit. "I've got better things to do than sit here till my legs fall off."

"N-No, wait… I…" I finally got up from the floor, but carefully watched to not move out of the way, so she couldn't pass by me. "I'm sorry it took me so long. I'm the Prosecutor you've been waiting for. My name is Pho-"

"Phoenix Wright, yes, I know." She started playing with one of her two pigtails in disinterest. "You live next door. The neighbor with the worst haircut I've ever seen in my life."

"W-Wa—"

_(Calm! I have to stay calm! I have to get her on-topic as quickly as possible…)_

Placing myself in a position that made it impossible for the girl to just walk past me and leave, I took a deep breath and disregarded her comment.

"So… You must be the witness, right? Ms… Uhm…"

I tried to recall the name Gumshoe had told me the day before.

"Ms… Alisa?"

"Alia." The girl stated in an obviously deliberately annoyed tone. "The name's 'Susan Maria Alia'. Friends can call me Sue."

"Well…"

_(Alright, I have to try to make her warm up a little bit.) _I thought to myself, when I wondered what to say next._ (The way she is now, I won't get much more than the usual 'I saw X and I'm sure' out of her…)_

I forced a smile and tried to appear as friendly as possible, holding out my hand to her.

"Well_, _then, Sue…"

"Wrong." she coldly cut me short. "_You_ don't call me 'Sue'."

"…Huh?" Confused, I pulled back my hand. "But you just said…"

"I said that friends get to call me that. Did I say that this includes neighbors who fail to memorize my name?"

"Uhm…"

"I didn't." she said, before I could even say anything, causing me to reply more quickly this time.

"Yes, I know…"

And once again, she cut me short.

"Wow, what incredible insight."

_(30 seconds…)_ I clenched my teeth. _(She needed all but 30 seconds to rob me of almost all my nerves… God help me.) _

I had to stay strong. I had managed worse witnesses than this brat. However, I had never before been both tired and hungry at the same time when I did…

"Ah, sorry… 'Miss Alia' then." My grin probably looked dumb but it was the only grin I could produce right now. "Pleased… to meet you."

I held out my hand to her again, waiting for her to shake it, but she just looked at it skeptically for barely two seconds, before losing interest. She stepped to the side and tried to get past me, but I followed her step and placed myself, again, right in her way. An annoyed grunt showed me that she was well aware why I did this. I tried to just keep on smiling and pretend nothing happened.

"Well… If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions about yesterday afternoon."

"I mind."

"Eh… what?" I looked down at her slightly stunned, as she started spinning her hair around her finger again.

"You said 'If I don't mind'. Well, I mind."

_(Rhetorical! That question was rhetorical!)_

"Eh… well… Why do you mind? Is it maybe too scary, or…"

"It's boring. I'm not in the mood."

"…"

I had seriously nothing to add to this kind of statement. Especially since she was here to give a testimony regarding a _murder _trial… This girl apparently had the compassion-capability of a brick.

An annoyed sigh indicated that she was about to say something again. She crossed her arms.

"But you're not going leave me alone about it anyway, right?"

After a short pause, I slowly nodded.

"…Right."

"Wonderful."

I have seriously never in my life been opposed to sarcasm. That would have been hypocritical. However, for some reason, this girl's sarcasm made it really hard for me to not just turn around and leave with an angry look on my face.

"Eh. Yes…" Nervously, I started rubbing my back and laughing a little bit, hoping that this would make her lighten up slightly. It didn't.

We were still standing right where we had bumped into each other, the doorway to the 3rd floor Lobby.

"Heheh…You know, we shouldn't be talking right here. We're probably in the way."

"You don't say."

Keeping my fake smile up became progressively harder. I had the strong urge to just drop it, counter her unfriendly remarks with my own and get her off her high horse this way, but I couldn't afford accidently making her any more uncooperative than she already was.

"Eh… Yeah. So… why don't we go back into the Lobby and sit down the-"

"Forget it; I'm not going back in there." Apparently the unwritten rule 'Let people finish talking, before you reply' had never been taught to her. "I've had it with those brain-dead policemen in there. If I hear one more stupid remark from that Detective, I'm gonna be sick."

_(I'm gonna be sick soon too, believe me…)_

She made a quick step to the side and went just past me, before I could stop her. I quickly turned around. "Wait! You can't go! I need you to testi-"

"Defendant Lobby." She stated, without turning around to look at me.

"Uhm… what? Why there?"

She raised her hand and waved, apparently wanting me to follow her.

"They've got rather comfortable sofas."

"But those Lobbies are for…"

I stopped when I realized that I really didn't want to argue about the location of her questioning with this girl. Also, she had already headed for the door to Defendant Lobby No. 2 and was halfway there. Her statement about the Defendant Lobbies' sofas had surprised me a bit…

_(That kind of sounded like she had been here before…And she found the door to the Defendant Lobby right away. Could it be that this is not her first time being involved in a trial?)_

Alia had already reached the door to the Lobby in the meantime and was now standing in front of it, obviously wanting me to open the door for her. She rapidly tapped her foot to the ground.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up, Prosecutor Wright!

The use of my name and the title 'Prosecutor' in the same sentence made me flinch. I had hoped that I could avoid having anybody call me that out loud, but apparently life denied me that mercy as well. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that she had called me this on purpose to annoy me.

Since my speed of approaching the door didn't exactly increase, Alia's impatience reached a new peak.

"Hmpf! I'm waiting! Do you want to interrogate me or not?"

_(Do you want to hear the truth?)_

When I reached the door, my suspicion that Alia wanted me to open it for her was confirmed, as she just crossed her arms and waited, instead of going inside like every other person would have done. Wordless, I put my hand to the doorknob and opened the door. The result was that she pushed me aside as soon as I had moved it enough for her to go through. Then, she entered the Defendant Lobby, closing the door right behind her. A little dumbstruck, I stood there for two or three seconds, trying to figure out why exactly she thought this had been necessary and opened the door again with a sigh. When I followed, I found her already heading for the sofa. She sat down on it and yawned.

"Ah… That's nice…"

I went up and wanted to sit down on the spot next to her, but as soon as I approached, she suddenly stretched out her legs. She turned to the side and laid down on the sofa, making it impossible for anybody else, namely me, to sit down beside her. Still baffled, I was trying to comprehend the sheer extension of her egotism, when she put her arms behind her head and looked up to me.

"Fetch me a pillow," she said.

"…"

I stared. For at least five seconds.

"W-Where…" My voice was coming back to me. "Where am I supposed to find a _pillow _here? This is a _courthouse _not the local Walmart!"

She turned her head towards me, raising her voice.

"Geez, I just asked!"

_(Actually, no. A question sounds different.)_

"Anyway…

Choosing to just ignore her pillow demands, I quickly fetched myself a chair from a nearby table and sat down in front of her.

"Miss Alia… I'd like you to answer me a few question about-"

"…What happened yesterday afternoon. Yes, I know." She once again interrupted me. She started playing with her hair again. "But is this really that important? You already found the murderer, didn't you?"

"We can't be sure about that before we figure out what exactly happened in my apartment that day." I told her. "And for some reason, you seem to be the only one who noticed the victim's screams. Everybody else on the 20th floor seemed to be unaware that anything had happened at all."

"Because I was the only one at home at the time."

"The only one?"

"…So, you really want me to tell you everything that badly?" she sighed. "I knew calling the police was a mistake... That's what you get for fulfilling your civilian duties. Geez… Alright… I'll give you your _testimony…_

The last word was accompanied by her doing the quotation marks with her fingers.

"Even though I didn't actually witness the murder…"

"That's alright, just tell me what you know."

"OK…"

She took a deep breath and started testifying, still spinning her left pigtail around her index finger.

* * *

_-Witness Testimony-_

"_I spent most of the afternoon in front of my apartment door, so I saw everyone who passed by during this time._

_It was between 16:30 and 16:45 that this girl in the lab coat showed up… The victim, I think. Right? She used a keycard to get into your apartment._

_A few minutes later, another woman showed up. Let me see the picture… ah, yes it was the defendant, as I thought. She used a keycard as well… I found that kinda strange, actually. How many keycards did you hand out to outsiders?_

_Except for those two, nobody else came by. So, obviously, the murderer has to be the second woman, right? After all, she was the only other one who entered the room._

_Around 17:00, I heard a scream. I called the police. That's all I can tell you."_

_

* * *

_

"Well… That's it.

Alia was still spinning her hair of her left pigtail around her finger.

"My testimony. Solid, huh?"

_(I can't see contradictions to any of my evidence…) _I thought to myself nervously. (_That can't be right. If Lana really was the only person who entered the Apartment, aside from Ema, it couldn't have been anybody else… Either I overlooked something… or…)_

"What you just said… I'd like to ask you a few questions about your testimony. Is that alright?"

"It isn't."

"…"

_(Somebody get a dictionary and show this brat the word 'respect', please!)_

I had had actual _killers_ for witnesses who had behaved more cooperative than this teenager. The worst part was that I was so far from done with her testimony; I'd still have to deal with her for at least a quarter of an hour longer. And after that, I'd have to summon her to the stand in court. Oh joy.

"Let me rephrase what I said then.

_(And now, off with those silk gloves!)_

I stood up from my chair and stared down at her on the sofa.

"You will repeat your testimony now. I will ask you questions. You will answer them. Understood?"

"Alright, alright! Geez!

She finally sat up on the sofa, looking rather irate.

"Ah… Don't you have anything better to do?" she glared at me from her eye's corners again. "I'd like to go home sometime too, you know."

"You can go home…" I told her. "…after the trial. You're the only witness we got and that makes you and your testimony crucial for the defendant's fate. Keep that in mind."

In response to this, she rolled her eyes.

"Okay… I'll let you ask your stupid questions, but don't expect getting any more info than you already have. I don't know more!"

"We'll see about that."

* * *

-Rebuttal-

"_I spent most of the afternoon in front of my apartment door, so I saw everyone who passed by during this time."_

**HOLD IT!**

"You were in the hallway the whole time…?" I asked her a little skeptically.

She just kept spinning her hair around her finger: "Yeah, from 14:00 to 17:00, I guess. And, before you ask, yes, I do that a lot."

"Really? Why would you spend so much time in front of your door, when you've got a spacious apartment?"

"I'm a little claustrophobic." she claimed monotonously. "The more empty space there's around me, the better I feel. Also… I have a bad habit."

_(One?)_

"And that bad habit is…?"

"Spying on people." She said bluntly, without even changing the tone in her voice. "I can't help but watch people all the time. Especially the other occupants of the 20th floor. Sometimes I even peek into the other apartments. Wondering what they'll do next, trying to figure out patterns in their daily life… It's pretty interesting, actually."

_(And illegal, but I'll get to that sometime later.)_

"Because of this, I also know for a fact that there was nobody home except me."

"Nobody except you? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. As you know, Mr. Wright, there are five apartments per floor in our building. More wouldn't fit due to their size. You occupy Apartment No. 98 and I occupy Apartment No. 97. I know, for a fact, that the owners of 96, 99 and 100 where not at home that day and I saw you leaving in the morning."

"And what about your parents? Weren't they at home?"

When I asked this question, she glared at me from her eyes' corners once again, except even more coldly than before.

"…Do _I _look like somebody who still lives with her parents to you?" she asked.

"…"

I refrained from answering to this and instead wondered how she could afford that apartment all by herself.

"…So you live alone?"

"All alone."

"And what happened next?"

"Well…

"_It was between 16:30 and 16:45 that this girl in the lab coat showed up… The victim, I think. Right? She used a keycard to get into your apartment."_

**HOLD IT!**

"Ah, yes, I remember… The locks on the apartment's doors open only with the right keycard, right?"

"Do I really have to answer to this? You live there, for God's sake."

I bit my lip, since she was, for once, kind of right. This had been a stupid question, considering my situation.

"And the person you saw was Ema Skye?"

"Yes. The same girl that comes to visit you at least once a week. That's why she didn't exactly catch my attention, but I'm sure that it was her."

"But you knew that I wasn't at home." I replied. "So why didn't you tell Ema that when she came to visit me?"

"I don't talk to people I don't know. I prefer watching them from afar." Alia answered, actually yawning after the sentence's end. "Also, I knew that she had a keycard. All she needed to do was go inside and wait for you. You wouldn't have minded her doing that, right?"

"…Point taken."

"Good. Well, then…

"_A few minutes later, another woman showed up. Let me see the picture… ah, yes it was the defendant, as I thought. She used a keycard as well… I found that kinda strange, actually. How many keycards did you hand out to outsiders?"_

**HOLD IT!**

"Excuse me, but that woman on the picture is my mentor!" I proclaimed, waving the little photograph around. "Why shouldn't I give my mentor the key to my apartment?"

"Why _should _you give your mentor the key to your apartment?" she countered. "I for one wouldn't do it. I wouldn't give my key to anyone. Locks are there so the doors stay closed. Dispensing keys like gum kinda kills the purpose, don't you agree? I prefer safety."

"And I prefer trusting my friends to not abuse the keys I give them." I told her, probably staring at her, as I did. She, however, wouldn't have noticed anyway, since she still wasn't really looking at me.

Alia yawned again.

"Ah…Well, I guess it's your fault then."

"…My fault?"

"For being naïve enough to trust the two of them." She said. "Hadn't you done that, that woman wouldn't have been able to commit the murder."

"**HOLD IT**! It isn't proven yet that she did it!"

"Well, I think it is pretty clear that it was her."

"And why do you think that?"

"Well…

"_Except for those two, nobody else came by. So, obviously, the murderer has to be the second woman, right? After all, she was the only other one who entered the room."_

**HOLD IT!**

I hesitated a short moment to say what I was about to say.

"…But you don't happen to have an alibi either, do you?"

"Huh?"

Finally, for the first time during the whole conversation, she actually turned her head towards me. For some reason, I still didn't have the feeling that she was really looking at me… Probably because her eyes were half-closed.

"Don't tell me… Are you saying that I'm a suspect, too…?"

"You stated yourself that you were alone in the 20th floor hallway for several hours, so…"

"It's not possible."

"Huh?"

I sharpened my ears and listened closely to what she went on to tell me.

"Oh boy… Seems like my name isn't the only thing you failed to commit to memory. Well, I'll be so nice to remind you then: You can't open the doors without a keycard. And I don't have one. At least not for your door."

"But I left the building rather hastily that morning." I shook my head. "I have to confess, I was pretty confused that morning and didn't even close the door behind me. So it's entirely possible that the door was wide open for anyone who came by to just walk in!"

"No, it's not."

"Huh?"

Alia was playing with her hair again.

"Those doors don't need to be locked. They close automatically once you walk through them and lock themselves automatically once shut. I don't get how you forgot this. Mr. Wright, you should really go get your memory checked. Just some advice."

"**OBJECTION**! Aside from my memory issues… which I… at the moment… can't really deny having…

_(And now, get off this topic, before it becomes any more awkward…) _

"… It could just as well be that the door didn't close correctly! Maybe something got stuck in the doorway and kept it from locking!"

Somehow, Alia managed to sound even more unfriendly than before with her next sentence.

"Wow, you were not kidding when you said 'Memory Issues', were you?"

"Hm?"

She sighed. "In the case that something gets stuck in a door, the lock detects it and gives off an alarm sound. Additionally, a red light flashes up in the janitor's office. He would have come and checked on your apartment, had that really happened. You can go and ask him if the alarm went off that day, if you want. I doubt the answer would be a 'Yes'."

_(That's awfully good security those doors have there…) _I thought to myself. _(So… it's really impossible that anybody entered the apartment without the keycard? Hm…)_

"No matter how you look at it, the only one who could have killed that girl was the other woman." Alia repeated. Finally she let her hair fall down from her finger and rubbed her hands satisfied, before she put them behind her head. "Case closed!"

"_Around 17:00, I heard a scream. I called the police. That's all I can tell you."_

**HOLD IT!**

"And the scream you heard…?"

"The girl." She answered. "It was too high pitched to be the woman. It was pretty horrible, actually… I thought my eardrums would shatter. I was seriously wondering what was going on in there."

"Did you knock on the door to check on them?"

"Of course not. I'm not suicidal." She told me. "The scream wasn't the first noise I heard, actually, that was just when I became really sure of my suspicions. It was obvious that an act of violence was happening in there and I really wasn't keen on getting caught up in the middle of a brutal fight. You understand?"

"Yes…"

"Alright then. That's all I know. Ahh…"

"Wait… you said, you heard other noises as well… Could you please describe them?

"Ah… Alright…"

"_Before the scream, I heard other sounds too. Yelling and stuff shattering. I thought it was your usual fight… I wouldn't have guessed that she was killing the girl in there."_

**HOLD IT!**

"Yelling… Did you hear the voices?"

"Not clearly." Alia replied. "Only that they were both female. However, I am sure that it was the girl and the woman. There could have been nobody else in the apartment."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

"…Alright."

"Fine. "

"…"

* * *

After a few seconds of silence, I finally put my hands to my waist. There was something about this testimony that had struck me as interesting.

"You know…" I started, hoping that I had the girl's attention. She didn't exactly appear to be listening to me…

"It sure is convenient that you were the only one present at the moment…" I thought aloud. "Since, if just one other person had heard the scream…" I smiled. "…There might be someone with a testimony differing from yours, right?"

"…Oh, I see. That again." She crossed her arms and sighed. "Seriously, why are you so keen on implicating me as the killer? I didn't do jack. I didn't even know that girl. And I barely even know _you_."

"Because you obviously have no alibi!" I replied.

"…And no access to the crime scene and no motive." She finished my sentence. "Geez, for someone who's supposed to prosecute against this woman, you're sure dead set on finding a different suspect, aren't you?"

"I just want to know what really happened." I stated determined. My hand reached for my Magatama in my pocket. "So tell me…

_( I will not make the mistake to ask too specific questions again…) _I reminded myself._ (Not after what happened during the Engarde trial.)_

"Susan Alia… Did you tell me everything you know?"

"…"

Instead of answering my question, she started spinning her hair around her finger again. However, it didn't take long before I heard the exact sound I had expected and saw how the barricade set itself up on the girl before me.

Two Psyche Locks.

_(I knew it. It was so obvious.)_

"Mr. Wright, you can stop staring at me now.", Alia stated. "I already told you multiple times, I witnessed nothing except that scream. So, stop it."

_(Ha, I didn't even get started yet. Now, if I just had some evidence to prove her wrong…)_

However, this was where my true problem started. I had nothing. Nothing that could prove her wrong in the slightest. Not that this kind of evidence didn't exist, it probably did, but I had left the investigations rather early the day before and still hadn't asked the Detective for the resu-

_(Detective Gumshoe… Of course! He's here! I can ask him for the autopsy report and the remaining results of the investigations!)_

Alia, however, had already stood up from the sofa. She yawned and stepped away. Surprised, I jumped.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Cafeteria." She answered.

"But…!"

"What?" She turned her head around to me. "You're done with my testimony, aren't you? …Or do you have even more questions?"

_(Well actually…)_

She wanted to turn around once more, but I quickly stepped in her way.

"Stop! I'm not finished questioning you yet!"

"So…?" she raised her head. "And what else would you want to know?"

"Well, I had no time to look at the results of the police investigations yet and there are a few more facts I have to look into a little deeper first, but once I do, I'm sure there'll be something-"

"In other words: Nothing."

"…"

_(..Argh… This girl…)_

My nerves were lying blank. How could it be that the trial hadn't even started yet and the witness was already making an idiot out of me? Also, I wasn't even the Defence Attorney this time… Was there no love for me, no matter what side of the courtroom? Or even here, in the Lobby?

"Alright, go to the Cafeteria." I sighed. "But you'll come back here for another questioning in thirty minutes, alright?"

"No."

"…"

I was close, that close to losing my last bit of patience with this brat. My hands were already balled to fists, the only reason why I wasn't using them already was my general agenda of not hitting girls or, actually, anyone at all. The last time I had snapped and physically fought back at somebody who annoyed me had ended with me on trial for murder by electrocution, a situation I wanted to avoid repeating at any coast. Still, this so-called 'witness' didn't make it easy for me.

Thankfully, the conversation between me and Princess Goldilocks came to an end when I heard someone's voice from behind.

"You are already here, Wright?

I raised my head and turned around, finding a familiar face to be there.

"I'm surprised. It is rare for you to appear in the courthouse this early before a trial starts."

The man in the red suit looked strangely pleased, similar to a teacher who had just found that the students had handed in their homework at the due-date for the first time in his career.

"Edgeworth..." I started and noticed that my voice sounded like I had been deprived of one week worth of sleep. But frankly, I didn't care. "...Help me…!" I moaned.

"…Hm?"

Edgeworth first gave me a rather puzzled look, then looked behind me, apparently saw the girl, and looked back at me.

"Is that the witness Gumshoe mentioned?"

"She's driving me nuts…" I admitted, not even caring that she was right behind me and listening. "I know, it's a weird thing to ask, but could you please, please keep her from running off while I go and fetch some evidence? You can even interrogate her a little in the meantime! _(If you manage to.)"_

"'Go and fetch some evidence'? You mean you haven't got it all prepared yet?"

And gone was the pleased look again. Edgeworth crossed his arms and waited for me to answer.

I blushed and rubbed my back embarrassed.

"Eh… I was a little busy yesterday…"

"This doesn't excuse being ill-prepared, Wright! Catching up on such shortcomings should be the first thing you do during day of the investigation! And it should come _before _the… witness… interrogations."

While saying this, he threw a quick look at the girl, like he had something he was saying on his mind regarding her.

"It's not like I had a choice." I defended myself. "She threatened to just leave…"

"A threat she… as she should be aware… can't fulfill, unless she desperately seeks to end up as the next person to be defended before this court." Edgeworth told me, suddenly glaring at me. I bit my lip. Sure, he did this a lot less frequently than the 'original' Edgeworth, but it still made me nervous when he did it. "Official court subpoenas by the prosecution are to be followed. You should know this."

"He missed out on sending me one." Alia suddenly commented from behind me. "Can I go buy a Swiss Roll now? I'm bored and starving."

"You didn't even subpoena her?" Edgeworth continued glaring and seemed less pleased with each passing moment.

"Ehe… Gumshoe sent one."

"He's not authorized to summon witnesses."

"Eh… Yeah, I kinda forgot about this..."

"What else did you forget?"

"…"

"I will just take that to mean "A lot"."

Lately, I noticed that there were a lot of situations in which I ran out of things to say. This was starting to get pretty ridiculous.

"Don't worry. I find this hardly surprising, actually." Edgeworth said, as he sighed and shook his head "After our meeting yesterday, I began to suspect that you wouldn't be able to perform according to your usual standards today. That's why I arranged some aid for you."

"Aid?" I blinked a few times, wondering what exactly he could mean by 'aid'.

Edgeworth crossed his arms again. "I made a phone call to the prosecutor's office yesterday and politely explained that your performance may be lacking in today's trial due to personal reasons, which I, of course, didn't further elaborate on. I asked them to arrange an experienced prosecutor to support you as a co-council. Since it is only to their own benefit to improve your chance for success, they agreed."

"You arranged a _Co-Council_ for me?"

"I thought it would the best way to help you concentrate on the facts." He explained with closed eyes. "I led most of my trials with a Co-Council by my side and made good experiences."

"Who is it?"

"I have no idea. I only provided the suggestion. As to whom they choose, I am just as in the dark as you are. And since you apparently weren't informed yet, we'll probably only find out once the person in question arrives."

Baffled, I stared at him for a few seconds; waiting for the moment he would tell me that this had only been a joke. As you probably guessed, this moment never came. I just didn't understand what was going on here. "Edgeworth… This is _helping _me! We're supposed to be opponents!"

"My intention is not help you, Wright. It is to keep this trial from ending up as a rushed mess." He told me. "The presiding judge tends to be easily impressed by pretty much any kind of valid explanation presented to him. With you not even trying to prosecute correctly, he would give the 'Not Guilty' verdict so fast, the case would be considered closed before there was even a hint of a chance to find out the truth behind it."

"Do you already have some theory what could have really happened to Ema?" I asked.

"A few clues, but not much more. There was simply not enough time to look into the whole affair yet, regardless of your exceptionally forthcoming attitude… Which I, by the way, used as a justification for my own forthcoming attitude. Don't expect the same in court."

"Alright. And… thanks."

"Frankly, I still have no idea what is currently going through your head, Wright. But I would like to ask you, regardless of your condition or opinions, to not hold yourself back from giving it your all and to not act thoughtless. Remember, Wright… In today's trial, you must start under the assumption that Lana Skye is guilty. At least until I raise valid statements which raise strong doubt regarding this matter. Once we get this important point out of the way, we can focus on finding a better suspect. Once Lana is legitimately free of all suspicion, I will leave the rest to you."

"...I understand." I added a short nod to this answer. Edgeworth was sure serious about what he was telling me…

"As for the witness… Since she's back again now, I guess I could take care of her for a few minutes."

"W-Wait… Back?"

I already suspected what Edgeworth was trying to tell me with this and when I turned around… Ah, yes… Alia was sitting there on the couch and eating a Swiss Roll from the Vending Machines in the hallway.

"You're slow, Prosecutor Wright…" She said with her mouth full of cake and her eyes closed. "I guess you won your reputation in the lottery. Couldn't have gotten it anywhere else… Hmgh… Worst Swiss Rolls I ever ate, by the way."

I just put my hand to my face and sighed.

"Miles Edgeworth, may I introduce you to… Susan Alia. Our witness… and apparently my neighbor."

Edgeworth took a short time before he finally answered.

"Susan Alia? ... Interesting…"

_(Huh… 'Interesting'?)_

I turned my head towards him, not understanding what he meant by this. His face showed certain signs of… distrust. Did he know this girl from somewhere? I was confused.

"Ah, so you're the famous Miles Edgeworth? Son of Gregory Edgeworth?" Alia had just finished eating the Swiss Roll and licked her fingers. Now she looked up to him. "Of course, I already knew this. Gotta stay informed. You made yourself quite a name in the last few years, after all. …Hold on…"

She reached into her bag with one arm, while standing up from the sofa and finally pulled out a pen and a notebook. She opened it and handed both of them to Edgeworth.

" …Hey, I need your autograph in there for my collection, would you mind?"

Oh, how much I would have loved it had Edgeworth answered with 'Yes' now. I was disappointed when he just slowly nodded and took the notebook and pen from here. Once rid of the items, Alia started playing with her left pigtail again.

"Oh, before I forget… Pleased to meet you." She said, not even looking at him.

Edgeworth quickly finished writing his name in the book and handed it back to her:

"The pleasure is all mine…" He said rather unimpressed. "…Defence Attorney Lilie Heatherd."

_(W…WHAAAAAT?)_

It was at this moment that I was sure, absolutely and perfectly sure, that this was going to go down in history as one of my worst days ever. Not that I hadn't suspected that as soon as this "questioning" had started, but it was at this moment that my suspicions had been totally, one hundred percent confirmed.

While I was still alternately staring at the blond girl and Edgeworth in disbelief, a smile suddenly crossed the former's face.

"Ah… so you found out? Not that I didn't think you would. After all, you're famous for your sharp wits among the Attorneys."

"It hardly needs a sharp wit to recognize this pair of pigtails, Ms. Heatherd."

"Well… I guess I can drop the charade then."

She put her hand into a pocket and pulled out a small, red hairclip with a clover on it. There was something additionally stuck in the middle of the clover… something round and golden…

_(Oh please, don't tell me she put her…on her… Ah, yes, she did…)_

After putting the hairclip with the Attorney's Badge on to pin back a small fraction of her curled fringe, she put her hands to her waist.

"Lilie Heatherd, Attorney at Law." she told us with half-closed eyes.

I needed someone to smack me in the face now. Fast.

My first witness as Prosecutor, and she had lied to me from the very beginning, starting with her _goddamn _identity. I refused to believe this.

I begged that this was just one awful, cruel, and incredibly horrible joke…

Please? Please?

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge__  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama__  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

_*) Suicide Note  
_Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright__  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and probably a Spirit Medium in this 'world'. Was apparently my girlfriend up until recently.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Susan Alia  
_Apparently, this is not her real name. The sole witness in this case. Pretty, but egoistic and uncooperativ.

_

* * *

_

_*Peeks at profil above*_

_So... this is it. The introduction of this story's first Original Lilie Heatherd to the cast!  
_

_Uhf... thanks to her, writting this chapter was like hell. OCs are problematic, due to the stigma they have, thanks to Mary Sue Characters, so one has to be very careful when developing them. _

_I originally came up with Lilie, when I tried to imagine what an ammoral Defence Attorney could be like (this was before I played Investigations, so I didn't know about Callisto Yew yet). She wasn't originally part of this story, but when I realized that working only with the already introduced characters would cause certain limitations to what I can get out of the concept, I carefully integrated her. Don't worry, she will not take over the story now, even though she has a certain significance. I hope I managed to make her come across believable...  
_

_With her name, I tried to follow the Ace Attorney pun-naming theme. "Lilie" is the german word for "Lily"(the flower, not the name). I used the german word because of the obvious pun... Pronounce it as you like, even though (as the german word) it's intended to be pronounced "Lih-Lih-E". As for "Heatherd", there are three reasons I chose that last name. Figure them out and earn yourself some 's not that hard. As for her "fake" name, the first reference should be incredibly obvious. In "Alia", there's two puns. First, think about what she (again, obviously) is. Second, say "Alia Sue" a few times fast.  
_

_There's character sketches of her in the court-record image list in my profil, which, by the way, was updated just now and contains pictures to most pieces of evidence, as well as sketches of Idol-Maya, A.K.A. "MAYOI" now. While we are at it, the pic of Phoenix and Iris is heavily based on a postcard of Feenie and Dahlia that's floating around on the internet, just in case your wondering._

_The testimony in this chapter was not originally intended to be given Cross-Examination style, but after playing AAI, I decided that using this format here already would be fitting and fun. I experimented a little until I settled on how to present the Cross-Examinations, in order to make them feel like in the game. I hope this sollution is satisfying._

_Somebody asked if I knew how to use a casemaker. The truth is, I originally started out trying to make a casemaker-game out of this story. Using Ace-Attorney Online. However, when I noticed that I just sucked at editing the sprites (I would have needed Idol Maya and Bowtie Edgeworth, not to mention making sprites for Lilie from the scratch), I decided that a Fanfic was the more convenient way for me. Even though it limits how close I can stick to the feeling of the actual games, of course. If I find myself a talented Spriter, I could eventually continue the Casemaker version, but for now this will stay a fanfic. ^^;  
_

_Oh, also, yes, I am a Troper, since some people asked yet! XD TV Tropes Wiki for the Win! ^^_

_Guys, thank you for all your feedback and praise! I didn't think this story would become that popular. ^^ I hope I'll be able to keep you satisfied! Entertainment is my number one goal when writting a fanfic, both for me and you! ^^  
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	10. Of Brats, Beauties and Beasts

"Lilie Heatherd, Attorney at Law. And witness for this case, of course, but that's hardly an occupation… Then again, you didn't yet ask me for name and profession, did you?"

"B-But…"

I couldn't do much more than stutter. This was just too much.

"You… that name… Magatama… didn't react… how did you…you… you…"

"Hee Hee…" She flipped her fringe. "I'm really disappointed you didn't figure me out first, Mr. Wright."

Ironically, she looked satisfied when she said that. And it was for the first time since I had met her today.

"…Me… figure out?" I replied in disbelief "You lied to me!"

I had finally snapped, at least regarding this girl.

"You gave your testimony under a false name! You lied in the courthouse… you… you…"

She had already started playing with her hair again.

"What? I never said that it was my name. Only that you mispronounced it and that my friends can call me 'Sue' and that's the truth. Also, I didn't lie. The testimony still stands. Every single word of it."

"But… I thought we were neighbors!" I replied "If you're really… how did you… how did I not… all the time…"

She looked to the ceiling, like it was more interesting than my irate face.

"Yeah, I was quite surprised too that you apparently had no clue as to who I was the whole time… I thought you had figured out, like, a few months ago, but well… apparently, my public disguise was better than I thought after all."

"Dis… What? No! Just no! You removed _one hairpin!_ That's not a disguise in any sense of the word!" I let my face sink into both of my palms, knowing that I was actually humiliating myself more and more with every further word I said, but I couldn't help it. "And, please, please put your badge off that thing! You don't wear your Attorney's Badge in your hair! You have a perfectly good vest to put it on!"

"Hm." Heatherd didn't seem to exactly care. She moved the pin around a bit, since it apparently wasn't yet in the position she wanted it to be. "I can wear my badge where I want, Mr. Wright. It will stay up there. It fits the color of my hair."

_(This hurts. It just hurts to look. Please make it end…)_

"Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to use a bathroom. Later."

After that, Lilie Heatherd headed towards the door and left. I wasn't even trying to say anything to stop her or to ensure her coming back afterwards anymore. I just waited until she had passed through the door, then I stepped the three steps that were left from my standpoint to the sofa and let my body fall down onto it.

"Ungh…This is a nightmare." I muttered, facing the furniture under me. "Every moment, the giant gavel comes and squashes me. I just know it."

Edgeworth apparently could still hear me. "Well, you have to admit that she is partly right." He sat down on the chair I had used just seconds prior.

"You should have known who she was."

"I probably did, from how it sounded… up until yesterday, at least."

"So your lack of memory does not just include that one trial…?" Edgeworth asked. Despite him claiming before that he didn't want to know what was wrong with me, he seemed rather interested now.

"Let's just say, it includes a lot of stuff…" I answered, face still to the sofa.

"Court Proceedings?" he asked with a hint of worry.

"Don't worry, those are still there."

"This is good to know."

"Argh…" Finally, I pushed my upper body up again and sat up, facing Edgeworth again. "I mean… how is this possible? This girl can't be a Defense Attorney! She's like-"

"Twenty three years old." Edgeworth told me with a dead-serious face.

"…Twenty…three?"

There was a reason he was making that face. Otherwise, I would have been convinced that this was a joke.

"She looks like sixteen!" I exclaimed, noticing how my voiced rose higher and higher, like a badly tuned guitar.

"And takes advantage of it on every given opportunity." Edgeworth sighed. "I watched two of this girl's trials from the gallery. She's not exactly what you'd call a genius, but she has quite a few tricks she can often resort to and she knows how to use what she has got. And she is quite creative. Most of her successes relied on her ability to make a connection between almost everything she finds on the crime scene, even if it were just a wrapper from a stick of gum. Her explanations are often so long winded and surprisingly thought through that the prosecution and judge have no other choice but to follow her train of thought for a little while. She, however, hardly ever actually goes anywhere with them and only few turn out to have any basis in reality. It's obvious she's only using the tactic to buy time and she earned herself the nickname "Evidence Spammer" with this."

"Not exactly flattering…"

"She doesn't seem to mind. It is generally really hard to actually intimidate or impress her. The Prosecutors' usual tactics, therefore, barely work on her. This is the other reason why she's quite successful. Also, she has a habit of eating in the courtroom."

"I imagine that she'd get a lot of penalties with this kind of attitude…" I thought aloud.

"Oh, she does. But she is careful not to reach the limit. Like I said, she exploits everything as much as she can. The Judge's patience is no exception."

"I see… How good is she?"

"Out of the seven trials she's had so far, she's won five." Edgeworth explained. "One of the two losses she just shrugged off without much consideration… The other one she caused herself."

"Herself?"

"Apparently, the defendant had 'offended' her during the recess. She then held a nap in the Defence's Bench for the remainder of the trial…"

A short silence followed after this. Just when I had thought that I couldn't possibly find this person's attitude even worse than I already did, Edgeworth had proven me wrong.

"…And there are actually people who entrust this Heatherd girl with their Defense?"

"For some reason, she keeps getting clients." Edgeworth told me. His voice made it obvious that he didn't know much more about it. "Anyway… weren't you on the way to collect the remaining evidence?"

"Ah, right…" I took a look at the watch. It was 8:30 now. One and a half hour till the trial… I had to inform myself fast. "Alright, I'll go find Gumshoe. If this Heatherd girl comes back…"

Edgeworth nodded.

"I'll try to keep her from leaving, but I can't promise you anything. I still have my own preparations to do after all."

"Thank you!"

With an honest smile, I nodded thankfully before I turned around and headed for the door. I had to hurry. Edgeworth was right, I was lagging way behind with my preparations. If I really wanted to catch up on the time I wasted, I needed to finally get my hands on those investigation results.

I stepped outside…

"Pal!"

For once, I was lucky. The first thing that greeted me when I had left the Defendant Lobby was a great, big grin and the owner of said grin waving at me from across the hallway. It was a relieving sight, at least for me in my current situation.

"Detective Gumshoe!" I ran up to him. "Good thing I found you… Hey, do you happen to have the evidence you mentioned in your text message from yesterday on you? I still need to take a look at it."

"Actually, I was just searching for you because of this, Pal!" he handed me a small bag he was holding in his hand. "Here you go!... Heh… Heh…"

I took it, but not without letting my eyes off Gumshoe… The detective had a weird smile on his face for some reason.

"…What are you laughing about…?" I asked him finally, after deciding that I found that expression a bit too unsettling to just leave him alone about it.

"Ah… nothing... eh heh…" he seemed embarrassed. "I just thought about what a strange feeling it is to be able to call a superior 'Pal'. Like I had been promoted to a higher level… something along those lines!"

_(Maybe I gave him a little bit too much freedom there?) _I wondered. _(You never know, it could go to his head…)_

"And yesterday, I got that huge bonus…Actually, isn't that a huge step forward in my career? Hey, maybe the actual promotion isn't that far away!"

_(…)_

I decided to start another topic, in order to get him off those thoughts.

"Could you tell me something about the new evidence, Detective?"

"Sure thing! Let's sit down over there to talk about it, Pal!"

"Alright."

We went over to the bench on the hallway's end and sat down. I got out the Autopsy Report and skimmed through it:

"According to this, she died from the blood loss…"

"Yeah, the stab wound was located in her chest, but somehow the killer missed the heart, so she stayed alive for some time. Not that this would have done her any good…"

"Yes, she was still alive when we found her." I told him. "…Barely. I don't want to know for how long she had been suffering in that state by the time we arrived."

"And to think her own sister did this to her… poor girl."

"…Hm?" A part of the autopsy report caught my attention. "…There was a bruise on the back of her head?"

Gumshoe nodded. "Yeah, they found it when they examined the body closer. It wasn't bleeding, so her hair was hiding it quite well. She was probably hit there during the struggle. Not strong enough to kill her, but she was probably out for a few minutes after that. That must also be where this ribbon came from."

"Ribbon?"

"Take a look at the crime scene photo."

I did as Gumshoe said and saw a picture of the dead Ema, lying on the floor, her pink glasses next to her. At first the position confused me since I distinctly remembered her sitting against the wall when I found her, but then I recalled that she had fallen over when she finally died…

The stab wound in her chest was clearly visible, as was the blood on her coat, shirt and skirt. Between her scattered hairs, something blue was visible. Only now I noticed that something was missing…

"Oh… I see. Her hairstyle - Uhm… what did Maya call it again- Ah, anyway… It came undone."

"Yeah, the ribbon must have slipped when the killer hit her."

"Hm…"

There was one question on my mind and I voiced it.

"Any chance… you found the murder weapon?"

"It's right here, pal! Look!"

Gumshoe reached into the bag and got out a smaller plastic bag. There was a knife inside.

"We found this with Miss Skye. According to some of the other Prosecutors, she always has a knife on her for self defense. This is probably it."

"Hm…"

I took a close look at it. "But there's no blood…"

"And no finger prints either." Gumshoe admitted. "The knife was probably cleaned with water and soap right after the crime. She tried to hang herself in the bathroom after all."

I looked up from the knife and turned my head to Gumshoe. "No fingerprints? But then this knife could have been used by anyone."

"But there was nobody else present." Gumshoe said and then he started to smile. "And we even have proof for that! Take a look at this!"

He gave me a sheet of paper from the bag.

"What's this?" I asked.

"A list of the fingerprints on the door handle!" Gumshoe stated. "The forensics made this at my request!"

"Your request?" I repeated in disbelief "You actually thought ahead far enough to ask them to analyze the handle?"

"Well…" he seemed a little embarrassed. "…actually, it was Mr. Edgeworth's request. I just passed it on to them. I gave him a copy of the list afterwards too."

"Oh."

_(So, Edgeworth requested the fingerprints on the doorknob be analyzed? He must have had a reason for this… let's see…)_

I quickly browsed through the names on the list:

_*)Phoenix Wright_

_*)Ema Skye (victim)_

_*)Iris Fey_

_*)?_

"Huh?" My eyes rested on the second-to-last name in surprise. "What is Iris's name doing on the list?"

"Hm… Isn't 'Iris' the name of your ex, pal?" Gumshoe asked when he heard me whispering and he tried to peek over my shoulder.

"Ex-girlfriend." I corrected him "I don't think we were ever married…"

"You… don't think…?"

"Eh… But, you're right. She pro—I mean, she, of course, had a keycard to my apartment." I could say this without a doubt, because I knew that I would have given one to her. "The fingerprints must be from her last visit then… What about the question marks?"

"The owner of those prints wasn't in our databank." Gumshoe answered. "So, we don't know whom they belong to yet, but we recorded them anyway. Who knows, that guy or woman could show up sooner or later during the case, Pal! Better be prepared for everything!"

"…You got that from Edgeworth too, right?"

"…Eh...Heh Heh Heh Heh…"

_(It was a good idea to let him support Edgeworth.) _I thought to myself. _(That list was just what I needed… it clearly contradicts that brat's testimony. But I wonder if I can get through her Psyche Locks with this alone?)_

I kept looking through the evidence. There were two more crime scene photos. One showed the messed up room, the other showed the unconscious Lana with the string from around her neck.

After that, there was just a single other piece of evidence left in the bag.

"…Huh?"

I was quite surprised, when I found myself holding one of Ema's decorative badges in my hand. The needle was crooked…

"Where did you find this?" I showed it to Gumshoe.

"Right next to the victim." He answered. "Probably came loose during the struggle, just like the ribbon. It's not really important, but we thought we should take it too."

"…There's blood on the needle…"

Interested, I took another look at the crime scene photo. Really, it was lying there on the floor by her feet… It had just been so small that I didn't really notice at first.

"The blood probably got onto it when it fell down." Gumshoe explained "There was a rather big puddle on the floor… quite creepy, Pal."

"Yeah, I saw it…" I sighed, remembering what had happened when I had tried to keep Ema alive. Taking another look at everything, I put the items back into the bag Gumshoe gave me and asked. "And this is everything you found?"

"Yup. Everything relevant to the case we could find in there, Pal! We searched every corner of those two rooms… Oh, but we didn't touch your personal stuff! I swear!"

"Wouldn't be mad if you did." I told him. "You were just doing your job, after all."

_(And you hopefully did it right. I'll need to figure out what really happened based on these few items…)_

I still had no clue why the killer had murdered Ema or how exactly he or she managed to access the apartment, but one thing was for sure: that the testimony Lilie Heatherd had given me was phony. The Psyche Locks alone were enough to prove this. I needed another talk with her in order to find out more…

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Wright…" Gumshoe seemed a little nervous. "About the witness… We… kinda… uhm…"

"Don't worry, I managed to catch her before she had a chance to leave." I told him.

"Ah! Well, that's good! And I thought we'd have to start the process witness-less. You have no idea how much trouble she caused, pal."

"Actually, I think I got the idea…" I sighed. "The worst thing is, I'll have to put up with her even more…"

After another look at the watch – which said 9:00 – I got up and stretched a little before reaching for the Magatama in my pocket.

"Time to get the truth out of that girl…"

I left for the Defendant Lobby No.2 again, armed with a bag full of evidence. This time, I'd get her… I finally felt somewhat ready to take on this case and everyone related to it.

However, when I stepped into the Lobby, I knew that my luck had already left me again. I could spot neither my oh-so-decisive witness, nor Edgeworth. Except for a few bailiffs, nobody seemed to be here.

_(Huh? Now, that's weird… where did he go?)_

It was strange… Edgeworth was not the type of person to just break promises. Then again, he had said himself that his own preparations were still his first priority… Did something happen that required him to leave? I hadn't really been paying attention to what else went on in the hallway when Gumshoe and I went through the evidence…

I took a look around… the bailiffs looked rather nervous. Probably something happened while I was outside… Maybe something relevant to the Defence Team, explaining why Edgeworth left.

_(Hm… That girl is not here either… with Edgeworth out of the way, she probably took the chance and bolted for the Cafeteria… Argh… I should probably go look for her ther-)_

"…Huh!"

I had finally noticed the one person in here who was, obviously, not a guard or bailiff… A young woman with black hair was sitting at the table… I gulped.

Apparently, my 'Huh' had been quite loud, since she had noticed. She raised her head in surprise and turned it towards me. Then she froze.

" Oh! …Y-You…"

Hands to her mouth, Iris was staring at me with her unnaturally big, clear eyes.

"…"

It took her about five seconds of awkward silence between us before she finally turned her head down again. She quickly looked at the ground, trying not to move her eyes, resulting in her looking strangely tense. Every bystander who wasn't noticing my presence would have probably thought she had a weird obsession with the carpet.

I bit my lip.

_('Ex-Girlfriend', huh?)_

What a dumb situation. I had no idea what to do now. Not even a little clue. Quite a few years had passed since I had dated Iris, at least for me, and I also had absolutely no idea how to behave in front of a girl one just recently broke up with. Was I supposed to show remorse now or play some kind of egotistic jerk? The first option seemed better, yet I was kind of afraid of accidentally saying something wrong if I try to appear regretful… Not talking to her at all would have been a so much more pleasant idea, hadn't she already noticed my presence. Just walking away now was out of question…

Finally, I decided to approach her a few steps… One, two, three…

"Good… morning, Iris…"

She didn't turn towards me, but lowered her head even more.

"…"

At least she wasn't randomly screaming at me and attacking me with mysteriously convenient sports equipment. That was something.

"…You… don't so happen to know where Edgeworth is, do you…?" I asked carefully.

_(Wait…This is the first thing I ask her? The only thing I could come up with? Wow. Fail.)_

"…Mr. Edgeworth had to leave…" Iris whispered. "There was an emergency…"

"Emergency…?"

She stayed silent for a few moments, before she continued whispering.

"Because of his client… Miss Skye…"

"Lana… is there something wrong with her?" I asked worried.

"…"

Iris said nothing more, but she continued to stare at the floor. Somehow, the fact that she wasn't adding anything was giving me a very bad feeling… What did happen while I was busy?

"…What to do…?"

"Hm?"

I looked over to Iris… I was sure that she had said something just now. Finally, she continued talking.

"…What to do…" she whispered "…when the last one left to you is gone and you will never be able to see this person again? What to do when you want to hear this person's voice again and see this person's smile again, but are convinced it was impossible?..."

Iris slightly raised her head. She looked at me with a weak smile.

"I think… in a certain way… we Fey women can consider ourselves lucky. Because we know the truth. That the people we love are not lost once their lives come to their end. They will watch over us who stay behind and guide us. This is why I will always know that I am not alone… even if my sister… my aunt, my cousins and everybody pass away from this world. They will still be watching out for me and… and I'll always know that I don't need to follow them to be by their side..."

_(Follow them…?)_

Iris continued whispering.

"So I should probably consider myself the luckiest person in the world… Probably… I should probably be thankful for being what I am. But… But I am not... I hate it. I always hated it."

Iris paused. I could see her hands trembling:

"…What is behind the veil that separates us and them? I should know. I am… the next Master after all. But I don't know. I am so scared of it… And if those I love the most were to get lost behind that veil… I don't know if I would have the strength to search for them behind it. Even if I could…"

"Iris…"

She clutched her Kimono with her hands as her eyes turned a little wet.

"I… I wanted to help Miss Skye. I really wanted to help her to see her sister again… But I couldn't. I was too weak…"

_(…Miss Skye? She tried to channel Ema?...)_

What was this reminding me of? The way Iris kept talking herself down… Oh, right. Maya had acted the same, shortly before she first returned to Kurain after we became friends. She had failed to channel Mia several times in a row back then…

I came to wonder… for a Spirit Medium, who spent her whole life doing nothing else but training to channel the spirits of the dead… What must it be like for these girls to find that they are incapable of doing this one thing they had dedicated all their lifetime to?

"I… I am sorry." Iris suddenly said. She turned her head away from me. "What… What am I doing… I don't know why I am even talking about all of this… After all…"

Iris looked up to me again.

"Why should you be interested in what I say…? After all, you… you… Ah- I… I am sorry…I…actually, I shouldn't be here…"

Iris suddenly stood up. "I-I'll be leaving now…"

"Iris!

She stood still.

"Iris, wait! I…"

I approached her a few steps.

"I'll bring Dahlia and Mia back! I promise."

Iris waited a little, before she finally moved her head and looked at me.

"For whom?"

"…What…?"

Iris looked a little more confident now. A certain seriousness was on her face when she continued her question:

"For whom would you do this?…For yourself? Just so I will stay with you?"

"No." I answered. "So you and Maya get your sisters back! So you can actually smile again!"

"…!"

Iris seemed quite surprised by the answer. She blinked a few times, before she lowered her head a little again.

"…Are those words… coming from your heart? Or are they just what seemed the best thing to say for you at the moment?"

"…Iris…"

She took a deep breath and turned around again:

"I… I wish I could just trust your words…Feenie…but…"

"…I already lost your trust… right?"

"…"

I was surprised that I had actually been able to answer this. Iris, however, took a step towards the door. She stopped just once more… and raised her head, still not facing me. But I could clearly hear her words…

"_Float far, float far,  
far away my oath shall travel,  
drown will, drown will,  
those whose words are meaningless."_

_(A… song?)_

After this, she went outside.

I was left behind a little dumbstruck. What had she meant to tell me by this? Was this supposed to have any… meaning for me?

I bit my lip, as the door closed behind Iris.

"Why did she even come here…?" I wondered aloud.

Loud enough for a bailiff, who passed by, to hear me:

"Oh, that girl just now? I think she's some kind of occult priestess or something. I heard the Defence hired her to get the Defendant to finally talk to her lawyer somehow. Didn't work out too well."

"Huh?" I turned towards the bailiff. "Why? What happened?"

"Dunno all the details, was just watching." He shrugged. "But somewhere along the way, the Defendant just stood up and left for the bathroom. A few minutes later, the guards caught her trying to strangle herself with her scarf there."

"She… WHAT?"

"Yeah, she probably hasn't got all too much faith in her lawyer, if she's already trying to go that route, right? I guess this will be one easy session for you, Mr. Wright."

I seriously hoped this guy was just joking. Judged by his face, however, he was not. I gulped.

_(Lana… What are you doing, Lana?) _I thought _(Now they'll all think she did it for sure… Of course, that's what she wants… Darn it…)_

"All the best in the trial, Mister Wright! I got work to do."

And the bailiff left the lobby.

I needed to sit down for a moment, so I chose the chair next to the one Iris had been sitting on and put my arms on the table. Just a few moments later, I noticed that I felt uncomfortable sitting straight up, so I started supporting my head with my right hand and sighed.

_(Great… Just great… Two innocent women are in jail, Ema is dead, Maya hates me, Lana's as good as declared guilty, Iris is miserable, my witness is refusing to do anything cooperative whatsoever and I'm right in the middle of the whole mess as the great big jerk of everything. Not to forget that there are three sets of Psyche Locks that I haven't figured out how to break yet… And one of those is on __**me. **__Argh…)_

Burying my hands in my hair, I finally let my head sink down to the table.

_(Can it possibly get any worse?)_

And that's when I heard it. The world's most annoying sound.

*SLAP*

Paired with world's most horrific voice. Well, almost.

"Is there anyone named 'Phoenix Wright' in this room?"

My head had already catapulted up from that eardrum-breaking sound, so there was no need for me to raise it. All that was left for me to do when I heard the voice was freeze and stare at the wall before me in horror, hoping that I didn't just hear who I thought I heard.

_(I just had to ask, didn't I?…)_

"Y-Yes, Miss… he's the one in the blue suit over there…"

"Thank you."

_(No. No, I am not! Go away!)_

I heard the steps. Obviously caused by someone wearing high heels. And the heels came closer and closer and…

"So, you are Prosecutor Phoenix Wright?"

"…"

I didn't budge an inch. I didn't even try to look at the person behind me. I knew all too well who it was and I did _not _want to interact with her. Not in any way possible on earth.

_(Pretend you didn't hear her, Phoenix.) _I thought. _(There's a possibility that she doesn't know you. Maybe she'll think she found the wrong guy and lea-)_

Well, of course, this wasn't the case, as I was about to find out.

*SLAP*

Pain. Pure 100% of concentrated pain pulsed through my back as the long string hit it with all force.

"OWW!"

"I demand you to listen to me when I'm talking!"

"OK, OK, I'm him! It's me!"

I turned around, rubbing my back, my eyes still closed from the pain. Actually, I didn't even need to open them. I knew who this was. There was only one person in the world that could enforce her will this way…

"Good. Of course, I knew that it must be you. I should probably tell you that I am never mistaken."

_(The bailiff told you. Stop boasting.)_

"Argh… now, what do you want…?" I asked, finally opening my eyes- Yes, it was her. No doubt. Not that this made _anything_ better…

"…Franziska von Karma…"

Yes, there she was, the same blue hair, the same frilly outfit, the same… may god safe my pity soul… whip.

There was a satisfied smirk on her face when I looked at her. She was probably feasting on my pain…

"So, you have heard of me?"

Or on her reputation. Either goes.

"Uhm… yes… I…" I threw a quick glance on her whip. "…I guess I have…"

"Excellent! This saves time… Of course I had already expected you to know my name, but recognizing me on first glance… I see, you have a good taste when it comes to choosing role models!"

"Role… models…?" I needed a few moments to comprehend what she meant. "W-Wait! I am not your fan!"

"..You are not?"

"No, I am not!"

*SLAP*

"ARGH!"

Wrong answer. Obviously.

"If that is so…" Franziska had crossed her arms and was now clutching her sleeves… I knew what that meant. It meant that I had managed to severely displease her. I had to be more careful now, or I'd end up in hospital bruised from head to feet faster than I could say 'Incoming hurt". So I bit my lip and kept my mouth shout while she continued talking.

"… why is it that you requested me then?"

_('Requested'…? You…?...)_ I had no idea what she meant… for approximately three seconds. Then it struck like lightning.

_(…AH!)_

"D-Don't tell me… you're the… the…Co… Cou…"

"Why are you shivering like a pile of dry leaves, Mr. Phoenix Wright?" she asked me, stretching out her hand dramatically. "I assure you that there is no need to be nervous. Looking at the facts, today's trial should be pure child's play to win. Just follow my instructions and I promise you that the judge will swing his gavel to announce the Guilty verdict in less than five minutes!"

"…"

My eyes were not at her face, not at her mouth or her eyes. They were at her whip. Just that long, godforsaken, suffering-inducing string on a wooden stick.

_(Why her?)_ I asked myself, feeling how the sweat dropped down my forehead. _(Why, of all the Prosecutors there are in this world, her? ) _

"You should know, I usually don't play babysitter for rookies, but I made an exception for you due to certain circumstances. You can feel honored now!"

_(How are you even here? Shouldn't you be in… what do I know… Frankfurt or Munich or Baden or some other strange-sounding place I will never see with my own eyes in my life? …She has no reason to be here! I'm seeing through your scheme, destiny! Go away and screw with someone el-)_

*SLAP*

"YIKES!"

My bruise collection expanded by one. By the end of this trial, I would probably qualify for _Guinness World Records_ under the title "Most Bruises received within the time span of three days" at this rate.

"You are not listening to me, are you?" Franziska hissed at me, her eyes slanted. "What kind of foolish fool are you, to think you could just call in a Von Karma to support a rookie like you in your foolishly amateurish way of work and not appreciate them at all for actually accepting such a foolish plea? If you are even lacking the ability to listen to your elders properly, you should quit before you disgrace the whole Prosecutor's office with your foolishness!"

"…Actually, I am not a rookie." I told her, preparing to duck, in case she decided to randomly whip me for no apparent reason, which was more than likely.

Franziska's arms were still crossed.

"Oh? And why did you request my presence in the Prosecutor's stand during this trial then?

"Well, actually, that was…"

*SLAP*

I had finally managed to jump out of range before she hit me. Despite having asked the question, she didn't let me finish talking to answer it, she just whipped me. Apparently she had meant it rhetorically… or something…

"I see. You didn't expect me to be a woman and are now judging me by that fact… What a foolishly foolish way of thinking."

"I-I'm not biased against women! Actually, my own mentor is a-"

*SLAP*

Franziska grabbed the ends of her whip with her hands and angrily pulled on them:

"Don't talk until I'm finished!"

I decided to not move at all anymore. In fact, to do nothing except breathe.

"Mr. Phoenix Wright, I put my promising career in Germany on hold and came to this country for one sole reason… Revenge."

_(Uhm…Déjà vu? Didn't you say almost the exact same thing when we first met… for real, I mean?)_

"I will tell you right away: I only accept perfection in every way and will not allow an unimportant, little rookie like you to ruin everything! Do you understand?"

In fear of saying something that would cause her whipping reflexes to go off, I just silently nodded.

"Well, in any case…" Franziska let her arms down again. She seemed a lot calmer now. "…the trial should start soon, so we probably should waste no more time in this Defendant Lobby. You can indulge me on all details to this case while you make your final preparations."

"…"

_(…I can't possibly explain to her that I need to talk to the witness again when Heatherd's testimony is nothing but one huge advantage for the prosecution… Darn…)_

"We will be leaving now. Come."

Reluctantly, I stood up from my chair. Only now, that I was standing, I remembered how much taller than her I actually was, making me wonder why I had remained on the chair this whole time. This had made her seem even more intimidating to me than was necessary… Not that being above eye-level with her changed much. She still had the Karma-glare, the word 'fool' in her vocabulary and, most importantly… her whip.

I was not looking forward to having that whip next to me in the bench. Not in the least.

For some reason, I felt like having her on my side of the Courtroom was going to feel even worse than having her on the other side. For one: she was closer, and that would probably increase her whip's effect on me. Second, I couldn't even defend myself against her since she would now technically be trying to 'help' me, rather than hinder.

But 'help me', in this case, meant 'keeping her perfect score clean by ending this trial with a Guilty verdict at all cost' for sure. This was not good. How was I supposed to give Lana even a hint of chance with her _trying _to be found guilty and a Von Karma at my side? All I could do now was trust in Edgeworth's abilities as an Attorney… Actually, not a hard task. He was indisputably better than Franziska in a few ways. If both their skills were still at about the same level as I remembered them, it should work out… hopefully…

Lacking any other choice than to follow her, I was just about to go through the Lobby's door after Franziska, when somebody addressed me.

"Excuse me. Could you help me?"

"Hm?"

I turned around and faced a woman with black hair, holding a book. She smiled at me gently as she continued.

"I was searching for the Defendant Lobby No.2. Does this happen to be the right place?"

"Uhm…"

For some reason… the woman seemed familiar…

_(Strange… I'm sure, I saw her before… but I'm not sure where…)_

"…Yes, this is Lobby No. 2…"

"Really? Ah, this is good then. I feared I might have gotten lost… this building is so awfully huge."

"Excuse me… but who are you?"

I knew that just asking this question out of the blue wasn't exactly polite, but I needed to know now. My curiosity wouldn't let me sleep tonight otherwise.

The woman bowed when I asked her this.

"My name is Misty Fey, Sir." she told me.

"M-Misty Fey…!"

_(Maya's and Mia's mother…! That where I knew her from!)_

I looked at her face closely now. She wore her hair differently from when I had last seen her, this was probably why I hadn't recognized her right away. Only now that I met her with the knowledge of who she really was did I notice that she did, really, look quite a lot like Mia... They even had the same smile…

"And I am here…" she continued. "…because I want to testify to the court. As a witness."

"A… A witness?"

"Phoenix Wright!"

*SLAP*

I should probably inform you that before the sound of the whip hitting me, there was also the sound of the door swinging open with force and hitting the wall with way too much speed.

Franziska had apparently run out of patience.

"You will not be wasting my time any longer!" she shouted at me. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, yes…"

*SLAP*

My reflexes were getting better. I had managed to escape her again.

Still, Mrs. Fey seemed quite shocked by Franziska's behavior. "Oh my…"

"And I don't accept half-hearted answers like the last one, Phoenix Wright!"

_(Great. She dumped the 'Mister'. This means nothing good…)_

Out of other options, I followed Franziska out of the room, but took one last glance at Mrs. Fey before I did…

…Misty Fey… when I had last seen her, she was Elise Deauxnim… the victim in a murder case which involved many members of her family…

But now she was alive… Alive and there for her daughters.

Come to think of it… All the time I had only thought about how much worse everything had become for me all of a sudden… Now I saw that there were also good changes, which I had completely missed out on thinking about till now. If Misty Fey was still alive… how many other people who had originally died were?

And also… Edgeworth was a Defence Attorney, like he had wished as a kid, and rid of his phobias and nightmares of DL-6.

Also, there was Mia… she had escaped the same fate as her mother had.

And Dahlia seemed to be a normal girl with normal desires…

Maybe for everything else that was worse… there was one thing that was better…?

The people who were alive now… Some of them would be gone again once everything went back to normal… right?

I led my conversation with Franziska in the Third Floor Lobby rather absentminded, but comprehendible enough to spare me any more whipping. My thought still with the now-alive Misty Fey, I explained the basics about the Evidence to Franziska von Karma, getting some rather satisfied smiles out of her in the process. Apparently, she saw this trial as good as won.

It wasn't long anymore until I heard the familiar words:

"Court will commence shortly. Please take your places in the courtroom."

Finally. The trial was starting.

I hadn't had another chance to interrogate Heatherd… But, for some reason, I still felt a little relieved. Only after a bit of thinking did I realize why. It was because Edgeworth had a witness.  
Misty Fey would be there… testifying for Lana's innocence.

And now I wondered what she saw…

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

*) Suicide Note  
Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 3  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Claims to be a witness for this trial.

_I love this Chapter. It just flowed so easily when I wrote it and I had great fun imagining all the scenes. Phoenix takes a lot of beating in this chapter (in more than one sense of the word) and, seeing how the trial is about to start, this not going to change anytime soon._

_Franziska von Karma did not originally have a role in this fanfic, since I didn't know how to integrate her into the story, but then, suddenly, out of the blue, I came up with a possibility how to use her and all the use ends just tied up. Now, she is just as important to the plot as every other character. She's, however, mostly there to add the tension of having a 'real' prosecutor on board since, be honest, would a battle between two Defense Attorneys trying to defend the same woman really be that interesting?_

_It's similar with Misty Fey, who wasn't supposed to show up that soon originally as well, but I eventually decided that I needed her here, as well as Iris. _

_As for that short song Iris sung, I'd try to remember it if I were you. It will come up again later. _

_As for Lilie's description as an Attorney, I wanted to make her seem like someone to be taken serious, but still not really on par in term of real skills with our canon characters. 2 Prodigies (Phoenix, Miles) was believable. 3 Prodigies (Plus Franzy) was BUYABLE. Once Klavier rolled in, things got weird and Wallbangerish. _

_I wanted to avoid worsening this situation, so I deliberately made Lilie a trickster, rather than a genius._

_Just a random fact at this point: I do have a habit of picking Anime-style Opening and Ending songs for any story I play, read or write myself. For this fanfic, those two would be "Unchain World" by "Nana Mizuki" and "Flow" (or: "Over/Flow") by "School Food Punishment" both of the songs fit certain aspects of my fanfic in parts of their lyrics, as well as music and I already have animations accompanying them in my head. Yes, that's what kind of huge nerd I am. Sal Manella would be proud of me… I guess…_

_Anyway, "Unchain World" and "Flow". Awesome songs. Inspired a lot of this story. Check them out._


	11. Living Room and Window Office

_INFO:_

_After long, long delay, the Court Record in my profile was finally updated. I suggest you to pay a visit if you want to guess along with Edgey and Nick. However, keep in mind that those are just rough pencil sketches and don't really replace the actual "Check" feature from the games. _

_Further, starting this chapter, not ever statement in every cross-examination/Rebuttal will be pressed by the lawyer holding the examination. It would simply take too long would I make them press absolutely everything._

_

* * *

_

**May 2****nd****, 10:00am  
District Court  
Courtroom No.2**

There was a crowd up in the gallery chatting and whispering. There were the bailiffs making the last preparations.

It was the beginning of another trial, exactly like I had been used to them for years now. Except for one thing…

My eyes were nervously wandering from one side to the other and back again. Rinse repeat.

_(Ungh… Judge to the left, Witness stand to the right… I am sooo not going to get used to that anytime soon… Hm. I have to be careful. If I don't watch out for my reflexes, I might end up finger-pointing the judge instead of the witness… Also…)_

I turned my head to the right. Franziska von Karma was just making herself a home there, by neatly placing her whip on the desk and brushing all eventual wrinkles out of her clothes. Afterwards, she stood up straight.

"Hm?"

She suddenly turned towards me.

"What are you staring at?"

_(Not what you think I was staring at, trust me.)_

*SLAP*

"YARGH!"

Great. The trial hadn't even really started yet and she was already at it again.

"Oh, I know what you are thinking!" she pointed at me with her index finger. "You think having a woman by your side is humiliating! Oh, what a foolish, sexist fool of a rookie you are!"

_(I'm used to having a woman stand here, you know. What I am not used to is having the woman in question beat me to a bloody pulp if I do as much as open my mouth.)_

Hoping that my hand would stop pulsing with pain, I shook it around wildly and mentally cursed Franziska von Karma.

"But don't worry." She, again, stretched out her hand dramatically. "By the end of this trial, which will be in no more than five mere minutes, you'll have witnessed the true power of Von Karma!"

She didn't win me off more than a sigh with this one.

_(No thanks. I'd rather witness the power of actual 'Karma'. Yours.) _

I decided not to think too much about what was next to me anymore and focus more on what opposed me. In the Defense's Bench – the place I would have really preferred to be now – I found a very nervous Miles Edgeworth, who had seemingly just arrived there. The place next to him in the bench was empty, causing me to wonder whom he usually had for a Co-Council and why this person wasn't present now- Then, the name "Dahlia" popped into my thoughts and I quickly dismissed them again.

Edgeworth's face was already wet enough for the room's lights to reflect in it… First I thought that he was probably sweating like this because of Lana's suicide attempt barely an hour prior to the trial, but then I noticed that he was staring over to my bench for some reason… Not at me, however. I quickly figured out that the one he was actually looking at was the person regrettably standing next to me: Franziska.

And, conversely, Franziska was glaring at him…

They looked like they were trying to shoot each other down with laser beams… I was slightly baffled when I finally realized that those two were apparently already in the middle of an… _argument_. Yes. Without even talking. A wordless argument. As weird as it sounds, that was the only logical explanation for those looks they were throwing each other.

Now, _I_ was at loss of words…

_(W-What? What is going on…? …Don't tell me those two still know each other?)_

The Judge had apparently taken his place on his seat already, since I heard his voice all of a sudden… somewhere… in the background…

I wasn't really listening.

_(Edgeworth and Franziska… now that I think about it, I never really understood the relationship of those two… Edgeworth always gave off kind of a big-brother vibe when he was talking to her, but that's about it…)_

Speaking of Edgeworth, his voice was saying something. I could hear him stating something rather formally, but I was still not really paying attention…

_(… But I guess he was probably the only one who ever even remotely understood this girl… Well, not anymore, that's for sure…But then again, how do they know each other here? I wonder if this has anything to do with their fathers…Manfred von Karma and Gregory Edgeworth…)_

"AHEM! Mr. Wright?"

Just now I noticed that the judge was addressing me. I quickly raised my head and became alert.

"Uhm…! Yes?"

*SLAP*

"OUUUUCH!"

I jerked up when Franziska's whip hit.

"He asked you if you were ready!" she stated enraged. "Can't you even respond to such a simple question? Useless Rookie!"

"…!"

I realized what must have happened and quickly tried to correct the mistake.

"Uhm, the Def—eh, I mean… The Prosecution is ready, your Honor!"

Trying to ignore how all my alarm bells went off when I said those words was incredibly hard and I started to wonder if I had maybe subconsciously spaced out on purpose, just to avoid saying this one sentence.

"Hm…"

The judge – it was the same judge I had known in all my three years as lawyer, plus my own murder trial in University – was looking at me with slight worry.

"This didn't sound very convincing…" he finally stated, after closing his eyes. He opened them again. "Are you alright, Mr. Wright? You seem a little absentminded."

"Eh, no, Your Honor!" I lied. "I am fine, really. Just a little lack of sleep recently, maybe... Ehe…"

"Ah, a lack of sleep, I see…" He shook his head, again looking somewhat worried. "You should really watch out for your health more, Mr. Wright."

_(He's probably right about this, considering that I'm currently counting roughly around twenty bruises on different parts of my body. Ouch.)_

The next one to speak was Edgeworth.

"Your Honor, if I may ask a question…" He looked just as nervous as he had when I had caught a glance of him minutes before and was now slowly raising his trembling hand to point at the whip-happy prosecutor next to me. "What is _this_ woman doing here?"

I could tell by his voice that he already knew the answer and didn't like it.

"Why, Mr. Edgeworth, wasn't it you who requested the Prosecutor's Office to provide Mr. Wright with support in the form of a Co-Council for this trial? At least this letter here says so…"

"**OBJECTION!**

Edgeworth's pointing finger was up.

"I asked for a young Prosecutor to provide minor support! This person hardly meets those con-"

*SLAP*

"NGH!"

He quickly pulled his hand back, as Franziska did the same with her whip, rolling it up neatly again, just to pose with it a second later:

"Be careful where you point that finger! It might come off." Franziska told him. A grin then passed across her face. "So, it was you who requested an aid for this rookie? I think I owe you my thanks in this case."

As Franziska bowed gracefully, Edgeworth just stared at her in cold sweat.

"And as for your cute, little conditions…" she continued and started waving her finger in front of her face. "I am nineteen years old. Is that not young enough for you?"

"Grr…"

There was a kind of electric tension in the air between those two, giving me the chills down my spine. Edgeworth's nervousness seemed to be much to Franziska's pleasure and satisfaction when he didn't respond to her last sentence.

"Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska continued. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time!"

Edgeworth, in an apparent attempt to regain some of his own composure, crossed his arms.

"…So, you were waiting for the day you would be hiding behind another Prosecutor like a coward?"

*SLAP*

"GHNN!"

And gone was aforementioned regained confidence again, replaced by an expression of pain.

"Keep your foolish comments to yourself, you foolish fool!" Franziska shouted all across the room, pulling the ends off her whip. She then whipped it against the desk, producing an incredibly painful noise- though not as painful as the whip itself. "Naturally, I would have greatly preferred to face you directly… But this next best option will do for now as well!" She grinned. "Mark my words, Miles Edgeworth! No mere rookie will hinder me from crushing you under my heels today!"

"We will see about that… Franziska von Karma…" Was the reply she got from the opposing bench.

I could only watch and sweat.

_(Oh my god. What have I gotten into again?)_

It was probably obvious how nervous I was, but, thankfully, the people weren't paying any attention to me anyway. They were much too drawn in by the 'Edgeworth-VS.-Von Karma' thing which was, for whatever reason, currently going in here.

_(Edgeworth doesn't look like he was feeling much better than me…) _I thought, seeing how strained he was staring at Franziska and how he needed to support himself with his elbow on the desk.

_(No wonder, actually. After all, he had asked for a rolling pin and what he got is a steamroller…)_

The judge was watching the whole spectacle more or less baffled, continuously blinking, as if he wasn't quite sure of what was going on.

"Ms. Von Karma…" he started. "…I have been watching your… ehm… interesting method of support for a few minutes now and… do you really think whipping Prosecution and Defense like this is necessary?"

*SLAP*

Somehow, the Judge managed not to fall out of his chair when he lost his balance upon being hit by Franziska, but his face made it obvious that he didn't really manage to dodge her.

"Absolutely necessary." Franziska stated. "True Perfection is the fruit of perfect preparation and perfect discipline! And as long as I am here, this whip will ensure that the Prosecution is provided with the latter!"

_(Somebody get me out of here…)_ I begged to the sweet heavens' above upon hearing this.

"Eh… In any case…" After blinking a few more times, the judge finally let his eyes off of the posing Franziska and turned towards me. "Mr. Wright?"

I stood up straight.

"Y-Yes, your Honor?"

"Your opening statement, please."

"Alright…"

_(The opening statement… I just have to shortly sum up the case and explain the Prosecution's claims against the defendant. That shouldn't be difficult.)_

Remembering what Edgeworth had told me just an hour prior – how I had to start supporting the case against the defendant, no matter my personal feelings – I took a deep breath and started.

"The victim is Ema Skye, a high school student. She was discovered in an apartment with a stab wound in her chest yesterday, past 17:00. She was still alive by that point, and first aid was given immediately, but she still died from the blood loss just a few minutes later. Meanwhile, her older sister and Chief Prosecutor, Lana Skye, was discovered unconscious after apparently attempting suicide in the bathroom of the same apartment. The Prosecution is thus… in the impression that Miss Skye… attempting to end her own life, had wanted to take her younger sister with her, making the intended crime murder-suicide and the crime itself sororicide."

"Hm… Sororicide… the act of murdering one's own sister…" the Judge thought aloud. "That there are people capable of something like this… How tragic... But, Mr. Wright, tell me, why is the Prosecution so sure that the Defendant was planning on killing herself as well?"

"Because of the suicide note which was found next to her. It is among the registered evidence for this trial."

"Oh yes…" The judge took a look at a list on the desk before him. "I see it now… Hm?"

All of a sudden, he seemed quite surprised: "Excuse me, but if I understand these documents right here, the ones to discover the victim were… you Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth!"

"This is correct, Your Honor." I nodded. "The crime was committed in my Apartment when I was out for a meeting with Mr. Edgeworth."

"I would like to add that both of us have an alibi." Edgeworth said, holding a paper, which I recognized as the Autopsy Report, in his hands. "The victim has been bleeding for at very least twenty minutes before she died, making the latest possible time of the crime approximately 17:00, at which time me and Mr. Wright had not even arrived at the building yet. Two children who saw us on the sidewalk around 17:10 can confirm this."

"Also, you would obviously not be defending Miss Skye if the two of you were trying to frame her for the deed, right?" The judge shook his head. "The Prosecution and the Defense both being witnesses of the crime in question… how unusual. I cannot remember having had this situation in my court ever before."

"Unusual or not, the case should be as clear as crystal to you, your Honor." Franziska von Karma's voice said from beside me. "The facts are unambiguous. The defendant confessed to the crime and there is a witness who states that doubtlessly nobody but the victim and defendant entered the apartment in question around the time of the crime. Additionally, the victim left a note clearly spelling out the name of her killer and sister, 'Lana'!"

Franziska held the plastic bag with the note in question in her hand and presented it to everybody in the room.

"This makes it easy, doesn't it?" She asked with a satisfied smile.

"Hm…" The judge took yet another look through all his documents, before he looked down to us again. "What is your opinion, Mr. Wright?"

"My opinion…?" I replied quite surprised that the Judge actually seemed to care for what I was thinking about this… Did the side of the courtroom I was taking really matter that much? Talk about favoritism!

"Well…" I took a deep breath, taking a quick glance to my right, where the ice queen herself was still watching me closely with her freezing cold stare, but turned back at the Judge again immediately when I reminded myself that thinking about how she'd react to every one of my actions wouldn't do me any good. I had to focus on my goal now, Franziska or no Franziska…

"I personally think… that there are still a lot of open questions regarding this case." I said. "Even though there is a huge possibility that the defendant actually committed the crime, there is still some room for error in this accusation, which I'd like to get out of the way before a verdict is decla-"

*SLAP*

"YAAARGH!"

I had expected this. I had known that she was going to do it. I had been aware that saying those words was gonna make her whip me with all her force.

But, tell me, did I have _any_ choice? Did I?

"Your honor, I think Mr. Wright here is slightly confused." Franziska said right after rolling her whip back up again. She crossed her arms and clenched her sleeves, while stating.

"This so-called 'Room for error' he mentioned is no more than a small collection of irrelevant details, which should in no way distract us from the facts of this case. And those facts all point to one unambiguous conclusion: Miss Lana Skye committed sororicide, a crime she even admitted to."

"Hm… Irrelevant details?" The Judge opened his eyes wide. "For some reason, you got me curious now."

"Believe me, there is nothing to be curious about in this case, Your Honor." Franziska denied.

"**OBJECTION!"**

Edgeworth's finger had risen along with his voice:

"Your Honor, despite what Ms. Von Karma may claim, I think the 'Room for error' which Mr. Wright was honest enough to mention, does, in fact, exist. And if you would allow me to elaborate on it, I could prove to you how exactly these mentioned 'details' do greatly influence the case."

"**OBJECTION!"**

Franziska whipped the desk.

"Your Honor, the Defense is obviously bluffing. Listening to his claims would surely turn out to be a colossal waste of time."

"**OBJECTION!"**

It was Edgeworth's turn again.

"If what I had were mere claims with no base, I would probably agree with you. I, however, find that some of the evidence that was found has rather curious qualities, which I would like to highlight."

"What do you mean, Mr. Edgeworth?" the Judge asked in obvious interest.

"Let us take a look at the murder weapon, for example…" Edgeworth started, opening a little book, which I suspected to be an Organizer of some kind. "Lana Skye's private knife, which was on her, is thought to be the weapon which took her sisters life. Yet, it is in spotless conditions. So spotless, in fact, that there are not even finger prints on it."

"**OBJECTION!"**

"A clear case of ill-conducted research." Franziska stated from besides me. "The defendant tried to commit suicide in a bathroom. It would have been easy for her to clean the knife of all blood and fingerprints there in a short time-span with a little liquid soap. In this case, not even Luminol would cause a reaction."

"Which brings us to yet another question." Edgeworth smiled confidently. "And this question would be: 'Why'?"

"…?"

Clearly not understanding what he meant, Franziska reacted rather confused.

"Why would the defendant do this?" He reformulated the question. "She admitted to the crime and the suicide note, given that it is real, proves that she never had any intention of hiding the deed. So why would she clean the knife as thoroughly as this? It makes no sense."

"Easy." Franziska pointed at Edgeworth with her whip. "The defendant was clearly shocked when she realized the horrible act she had committed, so she tried to wash off her guilt by removing the blood from her hands and knife. Remember Lady Macbeth, Miles Edgeworth!"

_(Uhm… I don't think, __**you**__, of all people, should be comparing anyone else to a Megalomaniac like Lady Macbeth...) _I thought to myself, slowly getting bored. Franziska had completely taken over the Prosecution's part, leaving me job-less. I was doing _nothing_ here. Absolutely. Nothing.

"Of course, this would be a possibility." Edgeworth stated. "However, there are yet more problems with the discovered evidence. "

"More Problems…?" Franziska seemed to become nervous and I knew why… She was obsessed with perfection. And Edgeworth was just not the type to say something like this without meaning it. Which meant that, in case he was right, Franziska had managed to overlook flaws. That's something she wouldn't take lightly.

"Yes… I will explain those problems in detail, once the corresponding evidence is of relevance." Edgeworth stated, his regained confidence not faltering. "In the meantime, I will first listen to the witness's point of view, as usual. They are the only missing information I still need in order to make sure that my drawn conclusions won't turn out to contradict any facts later on."

The Judge watched everything calmly from above.

"I see… it appears the Defense is well prepared. Of course, this was to be expected from you, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Thank you, your Honor."

"Mr. Wright?"

The Judge turned towards me. I raised my head.

"Yes, your Honor?"

"You have been awfully quiet for some time now… don't you want to say anything?"

"Eh…"

'_De-Co-Council me!'_ would have been the most obvious answer, but what if he had said 'No' and I would have ended up with a greatly aggravated Franziska von Karma less than a meter aware from me for the whole remainder of the trial? Still… she had already made it quite clear that if I wasn't going to hinder Edgeworth in any way, she would just do it herself. I could just as well have stayed in the hotel today…

The only option left to me was to just get on with the trial, hoping that Edgeworth would know how to deal with Princess Merciless.

"Well… I guess the Prosecution would like to summon the first Witness to the stand."

_(…Yes, that one is the best choice. This gives Edgeworth the chance to take the evidence apart a little bit more…)_

"It is the Detective who is in charge of the investigations on this case… Dick Gumshoe."

The Judge nodded. "Very well. He may come to the stand now."

This said, it took the bailiff no more than five minutes to fetch the Detective from the gallery and lead him to his destination. As always, Detective Gumshoe seemed a little nervous when he entered the stand.

"…"

He looked at me, then the Judge, and then Edgeworth. Then at me again.

"…"

Meanwhile, I just kept looking at him, waiting. A few seconds passed like this.

_(Huh…)_ I slowly got nervous as well. _(..Why aren't you testifying Detective…? …Wait. I have the feeling that there's something wrong… )_

I noticed that something seemed to be missing here, so I pondered about it for a few moments. I mentally went through all the points: So, what usually happened once a witness has been summoned to the stand? Easy. First, the witness takes place in the stand. Then the witness is asked for their name and occupation by the Prosecu-

_(…Argh!)_

I jerked up and quickly corrected my mistake by slamming the desk, getting everyone's attention.

"Eh…W-Witness! State your name and occupation, please!"

"N-No need to shout, Pal!"

Great. We weren't even past the first cross-examination, and I had already forgotten my lines twice and Franziska was in complete control of everything. This was definitely _not _my day.

I had never before noticed how much routine-talking the Prosecutor was actually doing during a trial… Hopefully I wouldn't forget even more necessary lines.

The Detective, in any case, had shrunk away when I had addressed him so suddenly. Probably I had done it a little bit too excitedly…

And just when he had finished his sentence, he got yet another reason to shrink away.

*SLAP*

"OUUUU~!"

Once again, the reach of Franziska's whip surprised me. Even from the position of the Co-Council, she still could hit the witness stand and everyone in it with accurate precision.

"Answer the question and refrain from commenting on the Prosecution's unpleasant voice, Witness!"

I was still trying to figure out whether I was supposed to feel supported or offended now, when Gumshoe answered.

"Y-Yes, Sir… My name is Dick Gumshoe. I am Detective of the Homicide Department."

"Ah, Detective Gumshoe… "The judge was apparently recalling something. "You were already entrusted with a case again? So soon after the last one?"

"Yeah, two murder cases in a week. I guess that's just my tough luck, Sir." He stated, obviously not happy about it. "But then again, ever since Detective Fey is… you know… everybody in our department has to take extra hours anyway. Without her, things are moving a whole lot slower, I tell you."

_(Oh, yes, now I remember… The Mia of 'here' told me that she was a Detective before her arrest…)_

Mia… What she had told me the day before came back to me now. _'Do what you think is right' _she had told me…

'_What I thought was right'_… I looked over to Edgeworth.

_(I want to know the Truth...) _I thought to myself. _(I want to know who did this to Ema… and why. This trial won't end until Edgeworth and I figured this out. And, in the end, Lana will be free… I promise.)_

"Detective Gumshoe." I started. "Please tell us what you and your men found out at the crime scene."

"You got it, Pal!"

He smiled, showing that he was ready to testify.

* * *

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**The investigative results**_

"_We received the call reporting the crime around 17:10. A young girl told us she had heard screams in the apartment next door. _

_When we arrived, the victim was already dead. She was lying there just the way you see her in the crime photo. _

_Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth were there too and had just discovered the defendant in the bathroom. Except for them, nobody else was present, Pal. _

_The doors don't open without the right keycard and there were no fingerprints on the doorbell. The only one who entered after Ema could have been her sister._

_Also, the two notes found make it pretty clear what happened… I'm sorry, Pal, but it looks like Ms. Skye really did it."_

* * *

"…"

I just heard something I wished I'd heard sooner. And apparently, I wasn't the only one with this opinion…

*SLAP*

"OU~!"

My aching back could now confirm this last suspicion.

"Why didn't you inform me of the lack of fingerprints on the doorbell, rookie?" Franziska asked, her eyes closed and the corners of her mouth pulled as far downwards as earthly possible.

"…Because that's the first time I heard it myself…" I answered.

_(And cut it out with the 'rookie'!)_

I looked over to Edgeworth… judged by his face he didn't hear of this yet either.

"Detective…the missing fingerprints on the doorbell…" he started with slightly strained voice. "…How do you know of this?"

"Uhm… the forensics analyzed it along with the doorknob, just to be sure… didn't I mention that before, Sir?" Gumshoe replied to him.

"No, you didn't." Edgeworth stated.

"Same here." I added.

Gumshoe looked alternately at the two of us, his nervous laughing getting more and more noticeable, until it finally cultivated in a single word.

"…Oops."

Edgeworth had only one thing to add to that.

"…"

A baffled stare and an ellipsis of silence.

"… Eh… Never mind that now!" I quickly tried to kill of that awkward moment. "After all, we still have a cross-examination to do, haven't we? Ehe…"

For some reason, I just couldn't seem to calm down. Probably because I noticed how right Edgeworth had been with his claims about me not having prepared myself for the Trial enough. Well, at least all those little flaws were buying us time… Franziska wouldn't be able to turn this into a five minute trial if it was obvious that my case was far from perfect. Of course, the lack of prints on the doorbell was actually to the Prosecution's advantage, but who said that Gumshoe didn't miss out on even more small details? Judged by Edgeworth's expression, that was probably what he was hoping for right now…

With a nod, the judge turned towards him. "Mr. Edgeworth, you heard Mr. Wright. You may cross-examine the witness now."

"Thank you, your Honor."

_(So, that's it… My first cross-examination from this side of the courtroom… That reminds me, this is also the first time I actually see Edgeworth holding one.)_

My interest became even greater than it already was and I focused my eyes on Edgeworth in the Defense's bench.

_(I wonder what this will be like…)_

_

* * *

_

~-Cross-Examination-~

"_We received the call reporting the crime around 17:10. A young girl told us she had heard screams in the apartment next door."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

" This 'young girl' you mentioned… You are, of course, talking about the Prosecution's witness, am I correct?"

"Yup!" the Detective stated with a grin. "She's going to testify right after me, as far as I know, so, if you've got any questions about what she saw…"

"Detective…" Edgeworth crossed his arms and started wagging his finger up and down. "May I inform you that said witness is twenty three years of age and does thus, in fact, not qualify as a 'young girl'?"

"Wha…WHAT?" The Detective seemed rather shocked, "Y-You're sure, Sir?"

"Absolutel-"

*SLAP*

"-!"

Is there any need to explain who caused Edgeworth's use of a simple adverb to end like this?

"Twelve, Fifteen, Twenty three… The Witness's age is of little relevance!" Franziska explained in a harsh tone. "The Defense is just wasting our time with this kind of 'information'! I demand him to refrain from 'sharing' it with us."

"Hm…" The Judge still seemed to be not really happy about what Franziska was doing. He turned towards me. "What is your opinion, Mr. Wright?"

"Uhm…" My eyes caught a glance of Franziska's whip.

_(Well, if you think about it, that brat's age really doesn't matter much anyway… )_

"Yeah…Whatever she says… your Honor." I stated flatly.

"I see… In that case, please move on from particularly this statement, Mr. Edgeworth."

The addressed attorney was still shaking his hand from the pain when he answered.

"Y…Yes, your Honor…"

"But I'm still sure that she was a teenager, Sir…" I heard Gumshoe muttering from the Witness Stand.

_(Hm… But didn't Gumshoe originally call the witness a 'young woman', before finding out about her so-called 'identity'? … Well, given what Heatherd looks like, it's no wonder he thought her to be a teenager, once he saw her…) _I thought. _(Hey, wait a moment. I just noticed…Is Gumshoe __**still **__calling Edgeworth 'Sir'? That… That's no fair!)_

Suddenly, I wished I hadn't allowed him to call me 'Pal' again…

"_When we arrived, the victim was already dead. She was lying there just the way you see her in the crime photo."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"…"

Edgeworth was studying the mentioned photo rather closely.

"What is it, Mr. Edgeworth?" the Judge asked.

"It is just that the victim's position confuses me, Your Honor…" He stated. "I distinctly remember her sitting against the wall when Mr. Wright and I first found the body. I actually assumed that she must have fallen over when the police started the investigations, but this contradicts the Detective's statement…"

"Eh, actually, that's my fault." I said, feeling somewhat glad that I got a chance to open my mouth again. Sitting still during a cross-examination was really not my thing… "I was trying to give the victim first aid, your Honor, but she died while I was applying bandages to her. That's when the body fell over."

"Bandages?" The Judge took a look at the picture himself. "But I can't see any bandages on her…"

Detective Gumshoe raised his hand. "And that was us. We had to remove them again, Sir. They were blocking the view on the wound."

"Ah, I see. So the moment she died, the victim was sitting upright and she only fell over once she was actually dead…" With a nod, the judge confirmed having understood this. "And Mr. Wright had applied the bandages before she fell over? Where were he and Mr. Edgeworth when you arrived, Detective?"

"Well…

"_Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth were there too and had just discovered the defendant in the bathroom. Except for them, nobody else was present, Pal."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Your Honor, if your might recall, the victim died rather soon after Mr. Wright here started applying his first aid. Also, we know that she had been bleeding for at very least twenty minutes. So, while it is definitely true that at the time the police arrived no one except the two of us were present at the crime scene, this does not rule out the possibility that someone else left the apartment earlier than when we arrived. Wright and I reached the 20th floor via the elevator. If a person left the building taking the stairs, they would have been easy for us to miss and would also have had plenty of possibilities to hide as soon as the police approached."

Edgeworth seemed rather confident while making this statement.

"**OBJECTION!"**

Franziska had, of course, quickly found a reason to disagree.

"Miles Edgeworth, I clearly expected more from someone with your reputation!" she stated loudly so everyone in the room would hear it. She then demanded. "Scruffy, explain to him why his conjuncture is flawed beyond compare."

"Uhm…" Gumshoe looked upset. "…Are you talking to me, Sir?"

*SLAP*

"NNH!"

"Of course I am talking to you, or do you see any other scruffy people in here?" Franziska shouted "Now talk!"

"Y-Yes, Sir! …Well, you see, Mr. Edgeworth…"

"_The doors don't open without the right keycard and there were no fingerprints on the doorbell. The only one who entered after Ema could have been her sister."_

**HOLD IT!**

"So Ema opening the door, allowing a third person to enter is out of question, because this third person would have rang the bell… Is it that what you are trying to tell us, Detective?" Edgeworth asked.

Gumshoe nodded. "Exactly, Sir! And since there are no prints on the doorbell's button, she obviously let nobody in! Easy!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

Edgeworth seemed far from satisfied with this explanation.

"And what if this possible third person didn't ring the bell, but knock?" He asked. "Also, the doorbell's button is quite small. It wouldn't take more than a single wipe to clean it of all prints! A task requiring four seconds at most!"

"Well, I don't know about the knocking… But the button wasn't wiped off, Sir." The Detective stated.

"And how do you know this?"

"It was really dusty before the forensics laid hands on it, that's how we know this, Sir." Gumshoe answered. "Like nobody had touched it in months. Seems like not a lot of people were visiting Mr. Wright."

Well, that was _good_ to know.

_(Nice. So not only am I a jerk, I'm also a friendless jerk… Uhf…)_

" 'cept for the ones with his keycard, of course."

"And those would be…?"

"He himself, his former girlfriend Iris Fey, Ema Skye and Lana Skye. No one else had the key."

The Judge looked down at me. "Is that correct, Mr. Wright?"

"Uhm… Yes, your Honor!"

_(…Not that I would know, of course…)_

"And why should the killer have knocked if there was an easily cleanable doorbell in reach?" Franziska asked full of confidence. "You see, your honor, the killer obviously had access to a keycard… like Lana Skye! Also, there is something pointing towards the fact that the victim and the killer spent some time in the apartment together, allowing the killer to draw closer without sneaking up from behind. This would only be possible if victim and killer knew each other… like siblings, if you will."

Detective Gumshoe nodded. "Yeah, Sir. Ms. Von Karma is right. 'Cause, you see, there obviously had been a struggle before Ema died. The second Crime Scene Photo proves that. And… well, that wouldn't be possible had the killer struck before she even noticed them, right?"

"Your Honor, I believe this statement just now was very important." Edgeworth said. There was a certain shine in his eyes.

_(Hm…) _I paid closer attention to him. _(…I wonder if he figured something out…)_

"If the witness could please repeat it once more…" Edgeworth asked politely.

The judge nodded agreeing. "Detective Gumshoe, please add the details about the struggle to your testimony.

"Well… alright. If it helps..." Gumshoe replied.

"_She wasn't hit by surprise. Look at the photo, Pal. The place was a mess. Ema obviously fought with the killer before she was stabbed."_

"**OBJECTION!"**

"…?"

I was surprised when I heard Edgeworth exclaiming this word. I saw him smiling as he pointed at Gumshoe, exclaiming:

"I am sorry to tell you, Detective… That there is a huge problem with the statement you just made!"

"…A… A huge problem, Sir?" Gumshoe asked upset.

"Yes, in fact, an enormous one." Edgeworth picked up one of the pieces of evidence from his desk and presented it to the court. It was one of the three crime scene photos.

"Your Honor, take a look at this and recall what Detective Gumshoe testified just a few seconds ago. Can you see how this picture contradicts what he claims?"

The picture he held was Photo No.1. The one showing the dead Ema.

_(...Did he find… a contradiction?)_

Baffled, I quickly browsed through the evidence, getting out my own copy of the picture… and suddenly, I understood.

_(…Y-Yes! How did I miss that? Edgeworth… Great work!)_

"Hm…" The Judge, too, took a close look at the photograph and pondered. "…Well… now that I think about it… The victim looks a little too neat for someone who just fought for her life, doesn't she?"

And that was it. I still didn't know why I didn't notice this sooner… But the Ema on the picture didn't look like someone who's been overthrown in a direct confrontation. Her lab coat, her shirt, her skirt,and even her hair… all neat and clean, except for the blood.

Edgeworth nodded. "Exactly, Your Honor. The only damage on her clothes does, in fact, belong to the very wound which cost her life. Aside from this and a single badge coming loose, there is not a hint of a struggle on her."

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Take a look at the autopsy report, Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska told him. "As you will read there, the victim did indeed have yet another wound!"

Edgeworth smiled, picking up said report.

"Yes, indeed… '_On the back of her head_'. Do you see the next problem here… Franziska von Karma?"

"…?"

While Franziska seemed slightly confused, I could only grin.

_(Well, I __**do**__ see it, Edgeworth.) _I thought. _(That's it… the first step to turning this case around.)_

"If I might explain, Your Honor…" Edgeworth said. "Had the victim actually struggled with the killer, not only would her clothing have surely carried away more damage than this, she also quite surely would not, in no case, have just turned her back on her attacker… especially not with a wall right behind her. However, the wound on her head, which probably was strong enough to rob her of her consciousness for several minutes, was dealt from _behind._ Also, the ribbon which the victim was almost constantly wearing to tie some of her hair up in a style resembling the Japanese '_Odango_' was undone.

_(Oh, so that's what that thing is called…)_

"This are all signs that the attacker approached her from behind, rather than from the front. Meaning that this person _snuck up_ on her. This leads me to one conclusion:"

He stretched out his finger and shouted.

"There never was a struggle between the victim and the killer! The crime scene has been manipulated in order to hinder the investigations!"

Loud chatting immediately flooded the room like a tidal wave and the Judge swung his gavel twice.

"Order! Order! Mr. Edgeworth..." He turned to the man he addressed. "You're meaning to tell us… That the Crime Scene was messed up for the sole purpose of confusing the police?"

Edgeworth nodded. "This is exactly what I think, your Honor. It is obvious on the first glance that the Defendant is physically stronger than her sister was, so it would, of course, have been easy for her to overthrow her in a direct confrontation. I would never doubt this. The situation, however, changes if the killer was actually just as frail as Ema Skye herself, if not even weaker. In this case, it would have been necessary to stun her before inflicting the deadly wound… And this is where the wound on the victim's head comes into play!"

"I see what you mean… So according to your theory, the killer snuck up on the victim from behind, stunned her with a hit on the head and stabbed her…"

"Yes." Edgeworth agreed. "And after this deed, the criminal altered the crime scene, in order to produce the illusion of a struggle having taken place. This was done in the intention of framing the Defendant, Lana Skye, of the murder!"

The amazed eyes of almost everyone in the room, including me, were on Edgeworth, who appeared to be quite satisfied about how things were going.

_(I… I couldn't have done that better.)_ I thought to myself, smiling.

Franziska, however, was less pleased.

"Arghh…"

Pulling her whip so hard that I actually wondered why it wasn't ripping, she turned to me and hissed.

"Why are you grinning, Phoenix Wright? Fool! Can't you see that he is ruining everything? Do something!"

"Hm?"

Franziska's reaction surprised me. Usually, this was the point where she just stayed cool and pulled her next ace out of her sleeves, laughing at the Defense in the face with it. Now, however, she seemed rather… concerned. Franziska von Karma was a woman who was usually ready for everything, even the most unlikely case, so I first didn't understand why the only thing she did now was vaguely tell me to 'Do something'. That's when I finally realized: No matter how much she made it look like it till now, she actually wasn't the Prosecutor for this trial. That was _me. _And all the information she had was coming from me as well. After all… How useful would Maya be in a trial without having investigated on the case with me beforehand? To say it bluntly: Not more useful than your average cheerleader. Well, except for her ability to channel Mia, of course. But Franziska had had no chance to study the evidence herself, neither to manipulate it or the witness. She probably hadn't even heard of this case until this morning. She… simply wasn't prepared. And no matter how many times she swung that whip of hers around, without her "perfect preparation" Franziska von Karma was… harmless. At least before a court of law.

I couldn't help but smile even more. This was my chance to finally take over…

"Oh yes, I will do something, Ms. Von Karma…" I ensured her.

_(And how…)_

So, what had Edgeworth said? Don't rest until we found the absolute truth? In that case…

I took yet another look at the evidence. There was one more thing Edgeworth hadn't mentioned yet…

"Your Honor!" I raised the judge's attention. "If I might add one more thing to what Mr. Edgeworth said: You should take a look at crime photo No. 3 as well! It shows the vandalized crime scene."

"You are calling it 'vandalized' like you were also sure that the destruction was caused intentionally, Mr. Wright!" The Judge answered with eyes bulging as if he didn't understand where I was going with this or why.

"Because I _am _sure that the destruction was intentional! Look at the places which where messed up… and now, try to draw a line which way the struggle between victim and killer would have taken according to this picture. Do you notice something?"

"Hm…" The Judge stared at the picture for some time until he finally gave in. "I… I can't draw a line! There are… too many spots which are completely undamaged!"

"Yes!" I agreed. "It makes no sense! If we assume that Ema really had been waiting for me when her sister arrived, that would make her starting point probably the sofa… Which is knocked over, while the table right in front of it, containing a lot of fragile objects, is completely okay. The shelf right _behind _this table, however, was emptied. Then, much more importantly, look at the victim's shoes on the other photo! They are clearly muddy. The prints the shoes left behind are clearly visible on Photo No.3, however, for some reason they only lead from the door to the sofa and not further. Had Ema really been chased around the whole apartment, her dirty shoeprints should be everywhere! This way, it looks more like somebody had carried her to the wall. There's a lot more contradicting points like this. Combined with what Mr. Edgeworth showed us just now… Well, let's say it in the words of a very good Judge I once knew: 'One coincidence I can believe. However, two coincidences at a time seem more like a pattern.' Edgeworth is right, Your Honor, this Crime Scene has clearly been tampered with!"

Silence befell the room. People were staring at me in confusion. No wonder… after all, I had just strengthened the Defense's case.

"Uhm… This Judge you mentioned…." Said our Judge amazed. "…You really have to introduce him to me sometime, Mr. Wright. He sounds like a good person."

"You would like him, Your Honor." I agreed.

"But… Why are you pointing this out?" He stared down at me. "I mean… this is clearly to your disadvantage."

"…"

What should I have answered to this? After all, I was just glad that Edgeworth had already managed to open the first hole in this case.

While the judge was still waiting for me to say something, I just looked over to the opposing bench, where Edgeworth was smiling satisfied. I returned this smile to him… We both knew that, as long as we kept digging deeper into the facts of this case, everything would turn out alright. Franziska, however, didn't seem to agree.

"Rookie! Are you out of your mind?" She asked me. I decided to ignore her. After all, all she could do was whip me… And a few bruises more or less didn't really make a difference anymore. There were more important things I had to care for now.

However, I had also promised Edgeworth to do my best in this trial, regardless of my personal feelings. So there was one other thing I had to do now, even though I hated it.

"To my disadvantage? I don't think so." I finally, after an at least a minute long gap, answered. "What we found out here only proves that the struggle never happened, your Honor. This doesn't necessarily mean that the killer wasn't Lana Skye." I said trying to appear confident. "If we, for example, go by Ms. Von Karma's logic rather than Mr. Edgeworth's, we could also come to the conclusion that Ms. Skye set up the ruined Crime Scene in order to provide _herself_ with the illusion that she at least gave her sister a fair chance to escape. In this case, the Defendant would have been the one to sneak up on Ema Skye from behind and stun her with a bump on the head. Keep in mind that Ms. Skye loved her sister above all else and that people don't act logical in extreme situations like this one after all. In any case, the lack of a struggle before the murder does not prove the Defendant's innocence."

_(Even though I wish it did…)_

"This sounds surprisingly… likely…" The Judge stated after listening closely. "A good alternate explanation… Mr. Wright."

"Thank you, you Honor."

Franziska spoke to me from the side, her voice sounding a little calmer again.

"Good. You saved the situation after all. Maybe you do have some abilities… And now, I don't want to see another slip-up like this one, do you understand?"

"That wasn't a slip-up." I replied, without even looking at her.

"…!"

I finally paid her a glance. Franziska was looking at me like I had just told her that pigs were going to rule the world tomorrow, but I didn't care. No matter how afraid I was of her and her whip… I had stayed back and kept shut up for long enough. Even though I found this thought still a little bit disturbing, in this trial I was the Prosecutor… not Franziska. And I was not going to let her take control again…

"Franziska von Karma…" I said, using her full name on purpose "…I said everything I said just now on purpose. This is how I am going to conduct this trial. As the Prosecutor. _You_ are just here to give me support. Not to do my job. That's what _I_ am here for. And if you don't like how I do my job…. Well… That's too bad for you!"

"Y-You…" Shocked, she stared at me. "But… you can't…"

"Your Honor!" I went on to ignore Franziska again and turn towards the Judge. "My theory is, of course, based on the evidence against Miss Skye, which we found. So if we could clear up the validity of this evidence, we could determine which conclusion is more likely: Mr. Edgeworth's or mine."

"I agree with Mr. Wright." Edgeworth said. "It would surely be helpful if the Detective could testify regarding this subject."

"Hm… Alright." The Judge agreed and nodded. His next look went down to Gumshoe. "Please testify about the evidence found against Miss Skye, Witness!"

"Alright, your Honor!"

* * *

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**Why Lana is the murderer**_

"_Well, first of all, Ms. Skye herself confessed to the crime. This is pretty much a dead giveaway, isn't it? Enough to get her convicted in any case._

_But we've got more, Pal! The only possible murder weapon was her knife, which she wore on her when we found it._

_Then there's the suicide note she wrote. Nobody else could have written that, right, Pal?_

_Finally, there's a witness who states that she was the only other person entering the apartment at the time of the murder."_

_

* * *

_

The Judge, who had carefully listened, nodded now.

"Hm… I see. This is all pretty incriminating. Actually, if the Defendant even confessed to the crime… I don't really see a reason to continue this trial any longer."

I almost would have given in to my urge and objected, but, thankfully, Edgeworth beat me to it.

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Your Honor, you are forgetting that I have yet to cross-examine the Witness." He said. "And before you ask, yes, there is a point in this testimony which I think could turn out to be more meaningful than it seems!"

"You think so?" The nervous blinking of the Judge made it obvious that he had no idea what Edgeworth was talking about.

But I knew.

_(I know what Edgeworth is on to here. I saw that one too, back when we found Lana. If he uses this piece of evidence right now, it could really cast some doubt on Lana's 'confession'… But is it enough? I wonder…)_

"Well, in this case… You may start the cross-examination now, Mr. Edgeworth."

Edgeworth just nodded, indicating that he was ready.

* * *

~-Cross-Examination-~

"_Well, first of all, Ms. Skye herself confessed to the crime. This is pretty much a dead giveaway, isn't it? Enough to get her convicted in any case."_

"_But we've got more, Pal! The only possible murder weapon was her knife, which she wore on her when we found it."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Before I go on, just out of curiosity, I'd like to know why exactly you are so convinced that this knife is the only possible murder weapon." Edgeworth said, pointing at Gumshoe.

Gumshoe shrugged. "Well, the victim's wound was rather deep and wide and fits the measures of Ms. Skye's knife quite well. We didn't find anything else at the crime scene that could have dealt it."

"Did you also search the kitchen?" Edgeworth then asked, earning him a nod from the Detective.

"Of course! But… to be honest… well, let's say, I found out the one similarity between my kitchen and Mr. Wright's, Sir."

"And that would be?"

"He's obviously not doing a lot of cooking there." The Detective stated. "We found a total of three dull knives and four forks. All of them quite dusty. I guess the kitchen is only there for the sake of having one. Ehe…"

I didn't find that quite as funny.

_(We got your point, Detective. Now please stop it before the people in the gallery get the idea I was too lazy to cook… The truth is that I just can't. At all.)_

The one advantage about Maya's constant burger binges was that this perfectly covered up that little detail about me. After all, you could hardly catch me accidently setting an omelet on fire when I never had a reason to make one. Simple.

Edgeworth continued his line of questioning.

"So the Defendant's knife was the only object on the crime scene which could have caused the deadly wound?"

"Yes, Sir." The Detective answered. "And if that wasn't already enough to prove her guilt…"

"_Then there's the suicide note she wrote. Nobody else could have written that, right, Pal?"_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Ah, the suicide note that we found… On what facts are you basing your claim that no one else could have written it?"

"Well…" Gumshoe grinned nervously. "It was… signed by the Defendant?"

"…"

"Oh, and also, the way it is addressing her sister!" Gumshoe quickly added, as if to de-awkward his statement. "I mean 'The shame and pain'… That's clearly referring to what Mr. Wright figured out in the Fey case, isn't it?"

"…?"

My attention doubled.

_(…The Fey case?... He must be talking about the conviction of Mia and Dahlia. But what has this to do with Lana and Ema? Argh… So many questions I can't ask… I want to go back to my own bench…)_

Edgeworth apparently knew what it had to do with them

"Yes, of course I remember… It was quite tragic… But, Detective, do you really think that those old wounds would have been enough to drive Ms. Skye to suicide?"

"Well, the note says so, Sir." The Detective answered, not getting any less nervous.

"…"

Edgeworth was quiet. I knew what he was thinking, at least regarding this note…

_(…He'll bring it up now… For sure…)_

"_Then there's the suicide note she wrote. Nobody else could have written that, right, Pal?"_

"**OBJECTION!"**

Edgeworth's right hand's pointer finger was up. In his left hand, he held the… suicide note itself.

_(I knew it.)_

He was about to bring up exactly what I thought he would bring up… I prayed that this would help.

"Your Honor. The Witness claims that this note could have only been written by my client. I, however… disagree."

He showed the note to the judge. "Take a good look at it. This note wasn't written by hand. The writing is clearly the computer-font 'Calibri', proving that this note was probably written on a PC using Windows Office software!"

The Judge stared down at Edgeworth for a few moments… before finally opening his mouth.

"…Pee Zee? … Also, I'm not quite sure why somebody would have a 'Window Office'. You have to explain this to me, Mr. Edgeworth."

"…"

The courtroom was silent and Edgeworth was beyond dumbstruck. And my face sunk into my palms.

_(Question of the day: Would the Judge cringe and collapse if we ever brought him out to the daylight of the modern world?)_

"Your Honor…" I started hesitantly. "What Mr. Edgeworth is meaning to say is… This message was probably typed with… uhm… a certain type of typing machine.

_(Not exactly the truth, but close enough and probably something he can grasp.)_

"Even though I'm not exactly sure why he is bringing this up like this…" I added mumbling… and immediately heard a word from my side.

"F-Fool…"

"Hm?"

I turned to my right… Franziska was clenching her sleeves nervously. Just now I realized that she had been very quiet ever since the start of this second cross-examination. Probably because I had shut her up just like this before it started… Now I wondered why she had uttered that one word all of a sudden.

I was hesitant to ask, but finally, my curiosity won. "What… is it?"

"…You foolish fool of a fool… Do you have any idea how much you just damaged our case?...Oh yes, now I remember. You don't care, do you?"

"…"

"Oh, just keep ignoring me. I'm just an insignificant co-council after all, am I correct?"

"…"

*SLAP*

"ARGH…!"

This last strike with her whip was, by far, her most powerful yet, even though she was keeping her voice low. She was apparently still mad because of the lecturing I gave her before… I got the feeling that once she made her comeback, which she was surely gonna do like I knew her, she was going to make me feel sorry for ever talking to her like that… The new bruise on my shoulder was just a preview of the things to come for sure.

Apparently, the fact that Franziska had just whipped me for apparently no reason went past everyone else in the courtroom since all the attention was still at the Defense's Bench.

"What Mr. Wright explained just now... is pretty much what I wanted to tell the court, you Honor." I heard Edgeworth say, while I was still recovering from the pain. "A type of 'typing machine', commonly available to public with this default font-setting since the year 2007. However… The Prosecutor's Office and all its attorneys use a different 'type' of 'typing machine'…"

"…!"

_(…I get it…)_

"The computers of this district's Prosecutors are without exception Linux PCs using the 'TextMaker' software! This software uses a different default font from the one we see on this sheet!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

Franziska had apparently recovered a bit since she, even though still a little quieter compared to her usual composure, was already fighting Edgeworth's claims again.

"What a foolishly foolish pile of foolishness… Miles Edgeworth, I hope you are aware that changing the font-setting on a Word Processor is easier than using a simple whip? Even our technologically inept judge here could do it…Probably."

"…I beg your Pardon?" The Judge said rather confused..

"Why should she have changed the setting?" Edgeworth asked with a smile on his face. "I took the freedom to look at some letters which Mr. Wright received from his mentor. None of them were written in the Calibri-font seen here. And seeing how she had no intention to hide the crime, changing the font would have made little sense. Also, there is still the question why the note was written on a computer in the first place… If you were to write this kind of last apology to your loved ones, wouldn't you want it to be in your own handwriting?"

"…!"

Franziska didn't seem to have an argument against this.

_(Exactly…) _I thought. _(Nobody would write their suicide note on the computer without a good reason… like to avoid showing that the handwriting doesn't match up with that of the alleged author, for example. And then there's still something else…)_

"Also, there is the content of the note itself… Basically an apology addressed to the victim, Ema Skye."

Edgeworth looked at the note skeptically. "Don't you find this to be quite strange? After all… how would the Defendant's sister be able to even read this apology after being killed? The written text doesn't make much sense, considering the intended crime was apparently murder-suicide… except if this note was written with the intention of framing Ms. Skye of the murder in mind!"

Seeming quite sure of what he was saying, Edgeworth concluded his speech.

"Just as the Crime Scene was altered, this note is a fake! Lana Skye neither fought her sister, nor wrote this letter!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

Franziska again.

"As interesting as your conclusions may seem, Miles Edgeworth, how are you intending on proving them?"

"…"

Edgeworth remained silent, giving me the feeling that he had nothing up his sleeves in this regard.

Franziska grunted dissatisfied and shook her head:

"Without solid proof, your theories are nothing more than baseless conjuncture… I am sure both Mr. Wright and the Judge agree with me in this respect… correct?

"…Eh…"

I really didn't want to say 'Yes'. I just hated it when this 'Baseless Conjuncture' stuff came up. After all, it had always incredibly annoyed me that material evidence counted more than basic common sense in our system.

The Judge, however, wasn't that doubtful regarding this. He nodded.

"I am afraid Ms. Von Karma is right, Mr. Edgeworth. After all, you are lacking proof to underline your conclusions…"

"…"

_(This isn't looking good…) _I thought. _(If this goes on for much longer, Edgeworth won't have a chance to pursue what he found out further… Hm… Wait. Maybe this will help.)_

"Well… Your Honor, I think the real problem with Edgeworth's claims is that they are impossible. At least from the current status of the investigations."

I put my hands to my hips and smiled. "After all… there's a witness who can confirm that only Ms. Skye entered the apartment after her sister did, right? Of course, without this testimony, there would be nothing contradicting what Mr. Edgeworth just claimed, but, well, as long as it stands, his claims won't do him any good… am I right, your Honor?"

"Uhm… Well, yes!" The judge nodded. "Of course you are right, Mr. Wright!"

_(Thought so.)_

"Well, I think it is about time to call in the next witness! The young woman who saw the Defendant entering the Crime Scene before the murder was committed! Her testimony proves that nobody except her could have done the deed!"

_(Or that the Witness is a dirty liar. I can't wait to see how Edgeworth takes her apart… Actually, I wish I could do it myself, but, well… As Franziska said, 'The next best option will do for now as well'!)_

"The Defense agrees." Edgeworth stated with a nod. "The testimony of the next Witness should provide insightful information which could prove crucial."

"Aww…You're going to call the next witness in already, Pal?" Detective Gumshoe on his stand looked and sounded upset. "...But it just got exciting…"

*SLAP*

"YARGH!"

"He told you to leave, Scruffy!" Franziska shouted. "So stop wasting our time and make room, before I have to show you the way out of the stand myself… with this!"

She whipped the desk much too hard, like she was using it as a dummy for her rage. If she did this just one or two times more, I'd probably have to pay for the repair works… Detective Gumshoe, in any case, was impressed enough to quickly turn around and flee the stand as quickly as he could.

_(I wonder how this will develop now…) _I thought. My eyes wandered to my right. _(Franziska is already back in action, and it doesn't look like she's going to give up on trying to regain her dominance over this trial again. I'll have to stay strong, I guess… Uh… Hey. Wait a sec… Did I just summon that Heatherd brat to the stand?)_

I could downright feel my face turning white when I realized what that meant.

_(So with this girl on the stand and Franziska right beside me… Uh… I think I'll need an Aspirin…)_

_

* * *

_

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

*) Suicide Note  
Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 3  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Claims to be a witness for this trial.

* * *

_So, lots of things happened. I went to AniNite, got to wear a Maya Fey Cosplay, met the freakin Nostalgia Critic, got crowned Austrian Otaku of the Year 2010…_

_Yeah, it was a pretty cool week, all in all. _

_So I hope you guys can excuse the delay in uploading this chapter. XD_

_By the way, this chapter was hell to write. I wouldn't have thought that trials would be THAT hard to get right. -.-;_

_I actually wanted to have Edgey cross-examine Heatherd as well in this chapter, but that thing just got longer and longer and longer and I finally decided that I needed to end it somewhere. The end of Gumshoe's cross-examination was just the only logical cut-off point I could find. _

_Uhm… I realized that there are kinda a lot of witnesses in this trial for a case which supposedly nobody actually saw happening. O-o; I guess I stretched the definition of the word "Witness" quite a bit._

_I'm starting to doubt that my decision to use three lawyers instead of two in this trial was right. I just can't seem to find the right balance between Edgey's, Franzy's and Nick's screentime…-.-;_

_Question answer time!_

_Anonymous reviewer: The storyline of Investigations here, of course, never happened the way it did, since I completly changed Edgey's role. However, at least two characters from the game will make an appearance. I'll not give away too much, but I'll tell you that the Smuggling ring is still active and well in this timeline. Like Wright said: For everything that's better, there is one thing that's worse. _

_Kendrix: Yes, that was probably me. But let's not talk about the old shame, alright? I was just a little kid back then... Not that I didn't still have a passion for that Anime. XD It was the first one I watched after all.  
_


	12. Believing, Doubting

A part of me had prayed that she had bolted and left the courthouse and would now thus not be able to testify. However, she was quickly found by the bailiffs and 'captured'. In the courthouse cafeteria, of course. Eating food she couldn't have gotten there, no less. Where she got it from was a mystery.

After about five minutes, she, Lilie Heatherd, the, sadly, one and only witness for this case, had taken the stand. And, true to Edgeworth's claims from before, she was now too eating in the courtroom. As the crumbs dropped down from the young woman's face and hands, the Judge just watched her chewing a few times, before he slowly stated:

"Uhm… Witness… Eating in the courtroom is not allowed."

"I know." She answered with a mouth full of bakery. She swallowed and took the next bite, much to the Judge's dismay.

"Then… would you please stop doing it?"

"No."

Well, at least the silence in this room told me that I wasn't alone with my opinion about this girl…

"Bailiff?" The Judge finally asked.

"We tried to take that thing from her! Seriously!" One of them claimed. "But she refused to enter the room without it!"

Heatherd kept chewing calmly.

"Well, I need my sugar to think. I'm not testifying here without it."

The Judge turned his head to me.

"Your opinion, Mr. Wright?"

_(…Why are you asking me that?)_

"Uhm…" Afraid of saying something wrong and starting an unnecessary discussion, I somehow came up with one of the dumbest questions ever asked in the history of questions. "The Prosecution… would only like to know why the witness' jelly-doughnut is missing its hole…"

Heatherd was glaring at me from her eyes' corners again.

"It's a Krapfen, you cretin."

"K-Krapfen…?" I asked. Somehow, I was being shot down with foreign words lately…

Franziska's voice reached my right ear:

"A German specialty." She told me. "Usually served around a carnival…A fried pastry with sweet filling…"

_(In other words: A jelly-doughnut.)_

"Mm…."

_(Huh?)_

When I noticed the "Mm" sound, I turned towards Franziska. Something about her expression was unusual… Like she was holding back some kind of urge. Only when I saw her quickly licking her own lips with the tip of her tongue, I realized what was going on.

_(Oh, I get it… Watching Heatherd eating a German snack probably made her hungry… Hey, if I'm lucky, she might even leave to fetch herself something from the cafeteria! Ha… Ha… Right, as if Franziska von Karma would actually do this…)_

"Hm…" Her mouth full of… let's call it a 'European Doughnut', Heatherd stared up to the Judge in a curious manner.

He took notice of this. "…Yes? What is it, witness?"

"Oh…" She swallowed. "I was just wondering if there are only two judges in this whole city… Also, Geez, you're old… You've surely been doing that now for… sixty years or something? Don't you want to go into retirement someday?"

The judge looked somewhat baffled and even a little bit offended.

"…Thank you, but no. I'm feeling fit enough to fulfill my duties for the years to come."

"Well, if you say so, Your Honor…" Heatherd replied before stuffing yet another piece of her pastry into her mouth.

I sighed. At least I now knew that she wasn't only treating me like this.

Knowing that the sooner she testified, the sooner Edgeworth could crush her believability and the sooner we would be rid of her again, I just went on to say my lines.

"Please state your name and occupation, witness."

"Lilie Heatherd." She said, licking orange-colored jam from her fingers. "And I'm a lawyer."

"Oho! Now I know where I recognize you from!" The Judge suddenly exclaimed. "You were the Defense Attorney for one of my trials in spring last year, weren't you? Miss Hazard…"

"No. Geez!" She cut him short and glared at him angrily from the stand. "How hard is it to pronounce a simple word? It's 'Heatherd', not 'Hazard'. Like 'Heather' but with a 'd'. I hate it when people get this wrong!"

"Oh… Well, excuse me then-"

"You got it wrong last time too, your Honor."

"…"

I think most people were surprised that she didn't also add an 'I hate you.' after this.

I, for my part, didn't know what to think. On one hand, I knew all too well how annoying it was when people got your name wrong. On the other hand, it was just incredible how she really downright _avoided_ showing the _Judge_ any respect whatsoever.

While we are talking about the Judge, he had just taken another look at his documents and seemed confused now. "Excuse me, Witness… But this lists your name as 'Susan Maria Alia'."

"Oh, yeah… about that…" She was clearly answering the Judge's question, her eyes, however, made it look like she was talking to the ground or the Witness stand, rather than him.

"I have somewhat of a bad reputation among some people, so I like to keep my business and private life separate." She stated, spinning her hair around a finger on her free hand. "Because of this, I registered my apartment and phone under another name."

"So it's an Alias?" The Judge asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "I guess the Detective in charge just looked up my name by searching for my number, failed to do the research, and thought it was my real name. Which, by the way, annoys me a _lot_… Argh…" She crossed her arms before her body, still holding the pastry in one hand. Crumbs rained to the floor. "I mean, now everybody and their mothers will know that 'Susan Alia' is actually me! Seriously, can you imagine all the unwanted mail I'll get?"

"Don't worry, witness." I heard Franziska beside me say. "I am sure the Prosecution will have a word about this with said 'Detective in charge' after the trial. Am I right, Phoenix Wright?"

"Uhm… Yeah, Yeah, I'll talk to him later…"

This wasn't motivating at all. I was forced to do the kind of thing that usually caused me to think the person in the opposing bench was a heartless douche. But now I saw that this kind of incompetence was hardly leaving them a choice…

_(Gumshoe, first this and then the doorbell thing…seriously, are you __**trying**__ to get a cut?)_

A disappointed sigh echoed down from the gallery and I was quite sure that I knew whose sigh this was. I felt like I was finally getting an idea how it was humanly possible to have one's salary drop as low as his did in the past few years.

"Anyway…Miss Heatherd…" I just wanted to get this over with quickly. "Please testify and tell the court what happened yesterday, alright?"

"Hm. Actually, I'm sick of all of this, but…" She swallowed what she was currently chewing and quickly threw me a contemptuous look. "Well, it's not like I had much of choice now that I'm standing here, is it? Alright, alright, here I go."

* * *

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**What I "witnessed"**_

"_Well, once again then, I actually saw nothing._

_But I can tell you that the victim, the defendant, and I were the only ones to go anywhere near the 20th floor yesterday afternoon. And there's proof._

_The victim showed up first. That was between half past four and quarter to five. The defendant followed soon after._

_And then, somewhere around 17:00, maybe even sooner, I heard screams. Then I called the police. That's all."_

_

* * *

_

_(…Huh?)_

For some reason, I felt warmth coming from my pocket… I put my hand inside and carefully tried to feel for the source, right until I held a little piece of polished jade between my fingers. As I thought… I tried to concentrate a bit on the Witness and, before I knew it, the two locks on Heatherd were in my view again. Vaguely, but I could see them somewhat.

_(Weird… The Magatama has never before reacted to the locks of someone who wasn't standing right in front of me… I wonder why now, all of a sudden…)_

Too bad this wasn't my cross-examination. Now that I had actual evidence, this would have made things a whole lot easier… Given that the unlocking-process, too, now worked from that distance, of course. Well, I wouldn't get to find out…

Playing once again with her pigtails, Heatherd seemed to be studying the ornaments on the courtroom's ceiling.

"Alright, I testified. Happy now?"

"Not yet." Edgeworth told her. "As you should know, Miss Heatherd, I have the right to cross-examine you on the basis of the testimony which you just gave."

"Ah…What is there to cross-examine in that easy story? First Mr. Wright and now you, Mr. Edgeworth… You guys have too much time on your hands, seriously." Heatherd seemed just as eager to leave the stand as I was eager for her testimony to finally lose its validity. "Alright, but keep it short. This stuff was already tedious enough the first time around…"

_(Ironically enough, I agree with her on that one… Please Edgeworth, don't disappoint me. Cross-examine the hell out of this wannabe Princess!)_

_

* * *

_

~-Cross-Examination-~

"_Well, once again then, I actually saw nothing."_

**HOLD IT!**

"You would hardly be here if you saw 'Nothing'!" Edgeworth disagreed loudly.

"**OBJECTION!"**

It was Heatherd herself who had exclaimed this. She… raised her hand into the air and waved at the Judge…?

"Your Honor, Your Honor, the Defense is pressing me unnecessarily!" She shouted.

_(…What?) _I hoped that I had just imagined her doing that, but, seeing how everyone else in the courtroom was also staring at her, I probably didn't. _(…We're not in grade school, girl!)_

"Uhm…" The judge looked like his thoughts weren't too different from mine. "Well, this _is _a cross-examination, so he has the right to ask you about all details…"

"But his comment was just dumb, wasn't it? I mean, it wasn't even a real question and, after all, I just said the truth! I didn't see the crime happening, I just heard the screams."

Edgeworth looked a little shocked. "M-My comment… dumb?"

Heatherd just went on, once again spinning her left pigtail. "Yes, dumb. And, to be honest, I'm quite shocked that the Prosecution didn't raise an Objection! I mean, geez! It was so obvious that there was nothing to press on this statement!"

"The witness is right." Franziska told me, crossing her arms before her body and not paying me a direct look in the eyes. "I, myself, was about to object as well."

"Then, why didn't you do it?" I asked her.

"I remembered that you told me to restrict myself to giving simple support."

"…"

_(Liar! As if you'd care about this!)_

"I wouldn't have pressed this statement." Heatherd finally ended her list of complaints, giving both Edgeworth and me dissatisfied looks. "No good attorney would press this. No good attorney would even _think_ it was a good idea to press this. And no good Prosecutor should allow something like that to be pressed like this."

A silence in the courtroom followed this sentence. It gave me the chills.

"Uhm…" I had the feeling that I had to say something now, or I could kiss the respect of the people in this courtroom goodbye. "Well… please don't press unnecessary stuff anymore, Edgeworth…"

_(Why do I feel like that didn't help much?)_

"Yes…" Edgeworth seemed like his nerves were lying as blank as mine. "Yes… Excuse me. I'll… be more careful with my attacks on the witness' testimony…"

The Judge had watched everything idly, but interested.

"So, I think we cleared this issue now… Please continue with your testimony, Miss Heatherd."

"Alright. So, like I said, I didn't see the crime itself…"

"_But I can tell you that the victim, the defendant, and I were the only ones to go anywhere near the 20__th__ floor yesterday afternoon. And there's proof."_

**HOLD IT!**

"Excuse me, Ms. Heatherd, but I find this statement incredibly hard to believe since there are certainly other occupants living on said floor. Why should they all be absent at the same time so conveniently?"

"Maintenance works." Heatherd stated calmly.

"Maintenance works?" Edgeworth repeated with interest. "Could you elaborate on this further?"

After a short sigh of annoyance, Heatherd continued to do as she was told to:

"Those workers have been fumbling around down in the cellar ever since the beginning of last week, checking on every floor's system separately. And yesterday afternoon it was our turn. I know for a fact that the occupants of the other three apartments had all decided to go out that afternoon in order to avoid the inconveniences. Of course, I didn't see them leave, but I'm quite sure that they'd all state to have been out when the murder happened if asked. And this is… my proof."

After saying this, she flipped her fringe victoriously, like she was sure that this explanation was infallible.

Edgeworth nodded. "Yes, I already did this and got this very answer in all three cases… I just found it curious that the murder happened the exact day nobody but you was present… More importantly, why didn't you leave the building as well for that afternoon, Ms. Heatherd?"

"Oh, I did. I was going to the concert down at Sunshine Coliseum with my boyfriend." Heatherd replied. "The Gavinners were playing there, so I had to see it. It was a question of life or death. Also, my boyfriend is a huge fan of MAYOI…"

I was surprised to see that Heatherd's face turned slightly red when she said this. Was she jealous…?

"A… Anyway!" She quickly moved on after a suspicious short pause. "The concert didn't start until _after _the murder was committed, so I had to kill the remaining time somehow. I was outside the whole time, so I know that nobody except the ones I mentioned passed by."

"So, you are meaning to tell me that you tried to keep yourself entertained… by sitting in the hallway of a floor full of empty apartments?

Edgeworth had a point there. If she knew that nobody was at home that day, even her little spying habit was no explanation for her being there.

"As you are certainly aware, should this statement be untrue and you actually did spend some time in your apartment, several new possibilities would open up for this case. Not to mention that this would make you guilty of perjury."

"But I _was_ outside the whole time." She insisted. "…I was eating."

Heatherd yet another piece of German pastry into her mouth as if to demonstrate what she said.

"Uhm… What?" This was me. I had asked it without really thinking, since that answer to Edgeworth's question had just caught me off-guard. "That's not what you told me before the trial…"

"Well, it's not like it was important, right?" She threw me a quick glance.

Edgeworth shook his head:

"That may be true in itself, but I still would like to know why you had to leave your apartment to do this. Excuse me, but it doesn't sound like a believable reason to spend such a long time in the hallway."

Heatherd just kept chewing. "Yes it is. I have a passion for foreign snacks, but I hate getting crumbs on my floor. So I usually eat them outside. There it's the janitor's problem, not mine."

_( I just love how she even says that out loud…)_

"Still witness…" Franziska was talking… and her eyes were still on what Heatherd held in her hands. "I would like to take this as an opportunity to remind you, once again, that eating in the courtroom is… _permitted_. Finish your Krapfen… quickly. And don't even _dare_ to eat another one afterwards… Or I will have to personally _punish_ you."

And while saying the word 'punish', with extra emphasis, she raised her whip above her head and stretched it.

_( 'Bailiff, go and fetch me one of those too'. That's what you really wanted to say, right? I mean, I'm not a Psychologist, but come on, it's painfully obvious.)_

"Hm…"

I was already waiting for Heatherd to make a stupid comment of some kind, but, much to my surprise, she just stuffed all of her remaining doughnut-thing into her mouth at once, chewed a few times, swallowed and stated:

"Alright. I'm done."

"Thank you."

Franziska seemed quite relieved that the dessert was out of her sight.

"Now that this problem has gladly been brought out of the way…" Edgeworth started. "…Could we please return to my current question? I will even repeat it: Are you sure that nobody except for yourself, the defendant, the victim, Mr. Wright and I has approached the Crime Scene at the time in question?"

"Yes, absolutely sure." she confirmed confidently.

"Well… in that case, move on…"

"_The victim showed up first. That was between half past four and quarter to five. The defendant followed soon after."_

_ß_

"_But I can tell you that the victim, the defendant and I were the only ones to go anywhere near the 20__th__ floor yesterday afternoon. And there's proof."_

**OBJECTION!**

"And this, Ms. Heatherd... is the part where I tear down your carefully built sandcastle of lies!"

Edgeworth's eyes were focused on the Witness and yet they were calm. He seemed to be very sure of what he was saying.

"The lamest metaphor if I ever heard one." Heatherd, still spinning her hair, claimed. "Also, where's the proof? You didn't object without basis, did you?"

"If I were in your position, Witness, I would watch my tongue." Edgeworth held a piece of paper in his left hand. He showed it to the court.

"What I have here is the testimony of a _second_ witness, who contacted me this morning, much to my own surprise."

"Huh!"

And… for the first time since I met her this morning, Heatherd looked somewhat… _shaken_.

Sure, she was still looking at the ceiling, but at least her expression went a little blank and the hair fell down from her finger:

"A… second witness?"

"Yes. While the person in question didn't see the crime itself, she did one thing which stands in deep conflict with your testimony: She entered the 20th floor of the building in question on the afternoon of the murder!"

Heatherd listened to this closely, her eyes still apparently fixed on something above her head, until her expression finally returned to how it was before. She lowered her head a bit again.

"…Well, she's lying. Isn't that obvious? There was nobody else. Not at the time of the crime… And even if there was, she couldn't have entered the apartment. Nobody has the key and…"

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Did I claim that my witness was the real killer, Ms. Heatherd? You are reading too much into my words." Edgeworth's coolness remained unshaken. "In fact, she couldn't have committed the crime since her visit in the 20th floor occurred at a slightly different point…16:30! Before the murder could have even taken place, she already left the building again, as one person who met her there can confirm: The Defendant herself!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

"A witness who appeared out of nowhere and your oh-so-innocent Defendant… yeah. Totally trustworthy." Heatherd seemed unmoved. "So, how exactly was this going to prove the latter's innocence again…?"

"Once again, you aren't listening to me, Ms. Heatherd." Edgeworth claimed. "My intent right now is not to prove anyone's guilt or innocence… It is to prove that your testimony is not a reliable source of information!"

"Heh." A brush through one of her pigtails. Heatherd appeared incredibly poised all of a sudden. "More reliable than a woman who can't even kill herself right and a last-minute witness you probably picked up from the sidewalk somewhere at the very least."

Edgeworth just smiled and shrugged. "If you are so sure of yourself and your testimony, Ms. Heatherd, why don't you testify again?"

"Huh?" Slightly startled, Heatherd looked up again. "Again? About what?"

The glare Edgeworth was then giving her sent shivers down my spine just by watching. The intended target, however, never even noticed. Heatherd's eyes were still everywhere but at him.

"Since you seem to be so obsessed with the Defendant entering the Crime Scene, I think you should probably remember this event quite well. So, if you'd please testify about this..."

"Ah… I see. So that's the game you're playing?" Heatherd crossed her arms. "Geez… Alright, guess I should better play along then, right? But I warn you… bore me too much and I might fall asleep at the stand."

"In the case that this happens, I am sure Ms. Von Karma would be all too happy to wake you up again." Edgeworth took a look over to Franziska. "After all… the Prosecution is in desperate need of your testimony to win this case, correct?"

"Grr…"

The young woman beside me was so tense, I could downright feel the stress she was emitting. Still, she wasn't saying anything. Finally, I brought myself to address her.

"…Ms. Von Karma?"

"Hm?" She looked up to me… I could see sweat pearls on her forehead. "…What do you want, rookie!"

Slow, but steadily, she was annoying me to death with this one little word she kept using. I decided to change my intended dialogue with her a little bit because of this.

"First of all, I want you to stop calling me that. I have been doing my job in the court for years now. I am _not _a rookie."

She didn't appear particularly dazed by this statement.

"Well, for someone claiming to be experienced, you are making an incredibly huge amount of mistakes, don't you think?" She kept pulling her whip nervously while saying this. "The Detective unprepared… Only one witness… gaping holes in her testimony… evidence we didn't even know of… How long exactly were you preparing for this case, if I may ask?"

I could feel my face turning crimson from the embarrassment, when I, out of fear of the face she was making, answered her question.

"About… an hour…I think…"

"W… WHAT?"

*SLAP*

*SLAP*

*SLAP*

"Argh-Ou-YAAAARRGH!

And now, three other spots on my body had turned crimson as well.

"You incompetent, dimwitted idiot of a clueless, foolish fool!" She screamed at me. "No wonder this whole trial is such a giant, pathetic disaster! Oh… Oh, I should… I should whip you until nothing is left of you but a miserable, little pulp of shame!"

"A-And…" Despite being scared like young rabbit with foxes in front of his hole, I decided to ask my original question after all. "How come you aren't interrupting Edgeworth?"

"…Interrupting?"

"Y-Yes, I mean I know, actually that's my job, but you…" I gulped. "Isn't that how you usually do it? I mean, he is cornering the Witness and I… kind of expected you to…keep him from... After all, that's how you usually…"

"You mean…"

For a moment, Franziska appeared startled. I didn't know why, but it was slightly… creepy. How her face went blank for just a split second there and it almost seemed like she was going to let go of her whip any second. It, however, didn't take long for her rage to return… tripled.

"…So, this is how you expected me to… you thought I would act like…ARGH!"

Before I knew what was going on, Franziska had already raised her whip and started attacking me furiously.

"Ou, Argh! OUCH!"

Something about her was different… Different from before. She wasn't merely trying to discipline me anymore… She was using me as a _sand sack._ A shock-absorber for her anger.

And what was that anger about?

"I am…"

Her yelling voice was about to tell me.

"I AM _NOT _THE _SAME_!"

_(…Huh?)_

While I was still shielding myself with my arms, a question shot through my head:

_(…The same as… what?)_

But the next strike came and made me unable to pursue that thought further.

"ARGH!"

Meanwhile, the Judge, Edgeworth, the Witness… Alright, make that _the whole courtroom _were watching Franziska turning me into the miserable, little pulp of shame she'd been talking about earlier.

"Eh… It appears the Prosecution and his Co-Council are experiencing some slight… Differences…" The Judge finally stated.

Edgeworth didn't seem to share the opinion. "…No, Your Honor. Those are no 'slight' Differences." He raised his voice a bit and got louder. "This is a pathetic demonstration of this woman's disability to control herself."

"W-What?

Franziska, who apparently was still alarmed enough to hear this despite her anger, finally stopped attacking me and turned towards Edgeworth instead.

"How dare you?"

"You know that it is the truth, Franziska von Karma." Edgeworth bluntly told her in the face. "In your eyes, this world has to work according to your rules… and if it doesn't, you use force. Like you were too weak to accept that there are things in this world that you can't control."

"Weak? Miles Edgeworth, you are truly foolish to think I am weak!" She glared at him. "I have already taken on men twice my age and experience and beaten them. My victories are the results of perfection! I am by no means 'weak'… this humiliation… is because of this worthless person beside me!"

_(Just keep insulting me. I'm used to it. Really.)_

"… 'Perfection'?" Edgeworth shook his head indifferently. "Mistakes are part of life, Ms. Von Karma. Without them, we wouldn't be able to learn and improve."

"Argh…" Franziska was once again pulling on her whip. "The foolish words of a foolish fool who foolishly fails to understand anything…"

Edgeworth, however, wasn't listening to her any longer. He had already turned to the Judge.

"Your Honor, it would be very helpful if the Witness could now testify regarding her seeing the Defendant in detail."

"… Very well." The Judge, after paying Franziska's and my bench another glance, nodded. "Ms. Heatherd, please testify regarding this subject."

"Ah, alright." She yawned. "But don't burst into tear if my testimony doesn't bring the results you hoped for."

As Heatherd started her next testimony, I couldn't help but feel incredibly endangered next to Franziska... and I also couldn't stop wondering…

_(…What happened just now? …What did she mean by "not the same"?...)_

_

* * *

_

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**I saw the defendant**_

"_Like I mentioned before, it wasn't too long after the younger Skye girl came in, that our defendant here followed._

_I'm sure that it was her. Not only did she visit Mr. Wright quite frequently, he also showed me a photo of her later and it looked exactly the same. _

_And, yes, I saw enough of her to be that sure: Her scarf and clothes… not to mention her face. Quite hard to copy that, huh?_

_She used her keycard to get inside. No knocking, no ringing. She just slid it in, opened the door and… well, poor victim. _

_The next time I saw her was here in the courthouse. Well, so much for what I saw of the Defendant."_

_

* * *

_

The Judge had listened attentively. "You really seem to be quite sure regarding your testimony."

"Well, Your Honor, I do have a healthy pair of eyes, after all." Heatherd replied. "And I know what they saw. The Defense can try to 'tear' my testimony down as long as he wants, it won't do him any good."

"Your Honor, may I prove this Witness wrong?" Edgeworth asked and the Judge nodded, as if he was convinced that Edgeworth could fulfill this threat.

"You may cross-examine the Witness now, Mr. Edgeworth."

* * *

~-Cross-Examination-~

"_Like I mentioned before, it wasn't too long after the younger Skye girl came in, that our defendant here followed._

_I'm sure that it was her. Not only did she visit Mr. Wright quite frequently, he also showed me a photo of her later and it looked exactly the same. _

_And, yes, I saw enough of her to be that sure: Her scarf and clothes… not to mention her face. Quite hard to copy that, huh?_

_She used her keycard to get inside. No knocking, no ringing. She just slid it in, opened the door and… well, poor victim."_

**OBJECTION!**

My eyes were opened wide.

_(Now, that was fast…)_

But after a little bit of pondering about to what actually he had just objected, I quickly realized what was going on. Edgeworth probably only asked her to give this testimony so he could get her to say this one false statement…

And the piece of evidence he would present now was…

Edgeworth now held yet another sheet of paper in his hand, which he triumphantly presented to a rather baffled court. It was the list with the fingerprints, which Gumshoe had given me a copy of earlier.

"While it is true that I can't prove that my Witness and my client are lying, I can still prove something else… That _this _Witness is lying!"

He pointed at the list. "Your Honor, this list contains the names of everyone whose fingerprints were found on the knob of the door which leads to the crime scene."

"What…?" Franziska mumbled in disbelief. "How did he… where from… Argh!"

"Study the names on this list closely, your Honor. You should notice that one person, who, according to the witness' testimony, should have touched the doorknob, isn't listed… The Defendant, Lana Skye, herself!"

A Bailiff then quickly fetched the list from Edgeworth and gave it to the Judge, who did as Edgeworth asked him to. It took him no more than five seconds to realize this.

"…Oh! This… This is true!" He looked over the paper's edge, right to the Witness stand. "Witness, explain this contradiction, please!"

"Well, she was probably wearing gloves." Heatherd stated uninterested. "No bare hands, no prints. Easy."

"It's not as simple as you would like to believe witness!" Edgeworth disagreed. "There is proof that the Defendant was, in fact, not wearing gloves when the crime occurred. If the court may please turn its attention to Crime Photo No. 2, which shows the Defendant… You will notice that her hands are bare!"

Heatherd had just two words for this:

"So what?"

"…Excuse me?" Edgeworth asked somewhat puzzled after a short pause.

An annoyed grunt was the first response he got. The second was held in actual words. Heatherd even finally turned her head towards him, even though only a little bit.

"Just because this photo shows her wearing no gloves, that doesn't mean that there were none when she committed the murder."

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Your Honor, the Defense openly doubts the validity of this explanation!" Edgeworth exclaimed. "I know for a fact that nothing even resembling gloves was found at the Crime scene during the investigations! Also, my client would have had no reason to remove the gloves!"

"Oh yes, Miles Edgeworth, she would have had a reason."

It was Franziska from besides me, who said this.

"Hm?"

After the one hour I had had to spend next to Franziska yet, I had finally come somewhat accustomed to having her standing to my right. Not that my fear of her had vanished, but I could at least bring myself to ask her questions now.

"What do you mean by this?"

"Hm. How should I know? I am just a Co-Council, after all. A mere consultant. It is not my task to prove the Defense wrong or interrupt them…" She answered me coldly, before turning her head towards me, saying. "The one who is supposed to fight of the Defense's empty Objections is _you, _Mr. Phoenix Wright."

Surprised, I backed off a little. She had reminded me of something I was actually trying to forget.

_(…She's right…) _I thought. _(What I am supposed to do right now is to… weaken Edgeworth's case with every fact I've got. Still… Lana is innocent. I know that Edgeworth is right. I know that she wasn't wearing gloves. I know it, because I believe in h-)_

I finally noticed that Edgeworth was glaring over to our bench again… however, this time, for once, not at Franziska. He was glaring at _me. _And his eyes seemed to be saying something… I could downright hear the words.

'_I am waiting, Wright.'_ I could hear his voice in my head.

I know I was just imagining it, since I could clearly see that his mouth wasn't moving, but still, I knew that this was what Edgeworth was trying to tell me with this glare.

_(Wait… I can't fall into that trap!) _I finally realized it… The one mistake I was making all this time. _(A Defense Attorney believes in people, yes… That's what I learned from Mia… A Prosecutor however __**doubts**__ them.) _

I clutched my hands to fists.

_(Doubt… That's nothing bad. It's about how you doubt… It's 'senseless doubt' that leads to mistakes. … Just like 'blind belief'.)_

I reached for the Magatama in my pocket and remembered the one trial I lost… thankfully lost… That horrible nightmare of a case…

_( Back then… I learned something. The Prosecutor is not the 'villain'. The criminal is. A trial needs a Defense Attorney who rightfully believes in the Defendant… and a Prosecutor who rightfully doubts them. Given that neither of them abuse their position for something, neither of them is 'bad'… It's all about the right balance! Both sides have to give it their all… honorably and without ulterior motives. That's how the truth will eventually come out. That's how the criminal, the true 'villain', will get their punishment. That's something I learned from Edgeworth.)_

Gnawing a bit on my lip, I glanced over to the other bench… He was still waiting for me to say something.

_(And I promised him to put effort into this… No matter how hard it may be. No matter how much I would like to be the one who believes right now… That's just not my role now!)_

I rammed my hands into the desk.

_(Edgeworth, I want to know the truth as well… I know what I have to do.)_

"Your Honor, I'd like to think that the Defendant _would_ have had a reason to remove the gloves!"

"Mr. Wright!" The Judge blinked a few times in great surprise. "It's good to hear that your voice is still working."

"…?"

What was that supposed to mean?

"Well, you were quiet for so long, I thought you might have lost it." He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "After all… who knows what horrible things Ms. Von Karma's whip can cause from such a close range?"

"Eheheheh… yes…Don't worry. I am just fine. Anyway…" I stood up straight. "The reason the Defendant removed the gloves she must have been wearing is the same as the reason why the murder weapon is lacking bloodstains!"

I tried to sound as convincing as possible.

"To get rid of the blood!"

"The… blood?" The Judge looked at me in interest. "So there was blood on her gloves…? Oh I see!"

I nodded. "Yes. It would have been impossible for the killer to avoid getting blood on her hands… seeing how the victim was stabbed! So what would have been the Defendant's first move after entering the bathroom? Getting rid of this blood, of course! Like Lady Macbeth!"

_( I… can't believe that I am actually repeating one of Franziska von Karma's lines… If I ever get back home, Maya will laugh herself to death if I tell her this…)_

"A-Anyway! Now, tell me, Your Honor, if you had a pair of bloody gloves on hand, which you just wanted to have out of your sight, no matter what, what would you do?"

"Hmm…" The Judge thought a little bit. "…Throw them out of the window?"

"Not quite." I replied. "You forget that the Defendant was found in a bathroom. And what does this bathroom conveniently feature?"

The Judge took a look at crime scene photo 2, which I was holding in my hands, when I said this. Finally, he understood what I was talking about.

"A toilet!" He said.

"Exactly!" I looked up to him. "There's a simple reason why the defendant wasn't wearing gloves anymore when we found her and why we didn't find them at the Crime Scene… She flushed them down the drain!"

"That sounds… plausible!" The Judge stated somewhat amazed. "Mr. Wright…?"

"…Yes, Your Honor?"

"It seems you are recovering back to your usual form."

_(…I am?)_

"That is good to see."

"Eh… Yes. Thank you."

I realized something: All in all, this wasn't too different from what I was usually doing. Except that I had to base my theories on doubt now, rather than belief… It still didn't feel right to me, since I thought with every single brain cell that Lana was not Ema's murderer, but at least now I knew that I was capable of pulling the Prosecutor-thing off… somewhat. But for how long? I knew that Lana wouldn't be declared guilty in the end… But I still felt like I was endangering her life. And this was a horrible feeling. I wanted this to end. Quickly.

"In any case…" The Judge turned his head to the other side. "What does the Defense think about this?"

"I…" Edgeworth seemed a little shaken, but, in a very strange way, satisfied at the same time… "I didn't even consider that the killer might have disposed of something this way…"

"I see."

"Still, your Honor!" Edgeworth kept the Judge's attention from shifting away from him. "I have yet more proof that the witness' testimony is not the truth!"

And with those words, Edgeworth held the testimony of his witness, whose identity I was pretty sure I knew, once again, in his hands.

"As I told the court before, there is a Witness who stated having been in the 20th floor just half an hour before the murder. And not only this! She also told me another rather interesting detail…"

Edgeworth looked confident:

"She had a conversation with the Defendant. A conversation which revealed something rather curious…"

Edgeworth banged the desk with his left hand.

"The Defendant's handbag was stolen just before she came to visit Mr. Wright. This bag contained her cellphone, some of her money … but, most importantly, the keycard! Your Honor, she couldn't have opened the door by herself! It was impossible! Further, look at the rope the defendant allegedly tried to use in her suicide. It is rather large. She would not have been able to transport it without arousing suspicion! Ms. Heatherd would have seen it and my witness testified that Lana Skye had nothing like this on her when they met!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

"E-Edgeworth!"

_(I have to do this… I really have to do this…)_

I couldn't help but feel horrible about what I was going to say now, because I knew that over there in the Defense's bench could just as well be me…

"Look at the second Crime Photo! Lana had her handbag with her when we found her! That's also where the murder weapon was found!" I told him. "That wouldn't be possible if it really had been stolen!"

"Yes… except if the killer was the one who stole and returned it to her!" Edgeworth countered. "I believe that Miss Skye's bag was indeed stolen… for the very purpose of framing her of the crime! If we find the thief, we also find the true killer!"

"You should really know better than to just blindly trust a testimony of someone who only showed up last minute to testify! Sure it could be that my witness lies… but how come you are so sure that it isn't _your _Witness who is lying?"

"This is, indeed, a very good question."

Edgeworth, for some reason, was smiling. I was a little baffled… That was not the reaction I had thought he'd show.

_(Wait… Did he… want me to ask this?)_

"Mr. Wright is, of course, right, Your Honor. There is no way to prove which witness' testimony is the truth and which is the lie… That means there would be no way… wasn't it for one last thing she testified about, which I haven't mentioned yet."

Edgeworth stood up straight.

"My witness saw another person entering the 20th floor. Someone other than Ms. Heatherd or the Defendant or Victim. …A third witness, if you will."

"A… A third one?" The Judge asked surprised.

_(I see what he is going for…) _I thought to myself. _(If he can prove the existence of this third witness… This would automatically both render Heatherd's testimony useless and Mrs. Fey's testimony true… After all, Lana couldn't have murdered anyone if she didn't have her keycard and knife at her at the time… And this would prove that the one who stole her bag was the real killer…)_

An instant win.

_(All he needs to do is figure out, who the third witness is… Nothing else…)_

"N-No way!"

That was Heatherd. I hadn't recognized it as her voice right away since her pitch had changed completely that moment…

"There was nobody else!" She demanded. "No one! You hear me? The only one who came by were this girl and Mr. Wright's mentor! I am sure!"

The Judge eyed Heatherd, who, despite her sudden excitement, still wouldn't return the look. He then went on to look alternately at me and Edgeworth.

"If Miss Heatherd insists on her testimony, it seems we have reached a dead end… We will probably need a cross-examination of your witness, Mr. Edgeworth. Otherwise, this trial won't move even a single inch further."

Edgeworth nodded. "Yes, I was just about to say the same, Your Honor. I would like to summon her to the stand now. The witness' name is Misty Fey."

Loud chatting started in the courtroom. I heard the words 'Fey', 'MAYOI' and 'Detective Fey' fall several times. I seemed to be one of the few people who wasn't surprised by this revelation. Of course not… I had seen her in the Lobby.

The judge's gavel returned silence to the court.

"Order! Order! … Mr. Edgeworth, how fast can you contact Mrs. Fey?"

"There is no need to. I was prepared for this to happen and asked her to stay here. She is among the audience in the Gallery."

"Very good… Mr. Wright?"

The Judge had once again turned towards me. I answered him.

"Yes, your Honor?"

"You have thirty minutes to talk to the new witness and prepare her for Mr. Edgeworth's cross-examination."

"Alright."

_(Good… This means I get to cross-examine Mrs. Fey in the recess. I'll just see what I can get out of her during that time. Misty Fey's testimony… this could be the piece of information we need to find out who really killed Ema… Hm…)_

My eyes wandered to the Witness stand. Heatherd had gone on to feign ignorance and disinterest again, but I knew better. The way she had reacted when Edgeworth mentioned the third witness… She was nervous, no matter how good she hid it.

_(Lilie Heatherd… you know something.) _I enclosed my hand around the Magatama in my pocket. _(Just wait until I get back to you… I'll find out what you are hiding. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with crumbs on your living room floor…)_

Meanwhile, Franziska beside me was quiet but tense… I could see how she continuously tried to secretly look over to Edgeworth's bench. And it also seemed like she was thinking or wondering about something.

_(I wonder what is going on in this woman's head…) _I thought. _(First she doesn't even let me talk, and now she's barely saying anything… Why is she here? What's the story between her and Edgeworth…?)_

The sound of the Judge's gavel caught my attention.

"The court will now withdraw for a recess for thirty minutes."

Misty Fey was an honest and kind woman. I knew that whatever I might get out of her testimony, it would not go well with the Prosecution's case…

Now…Was this a good or a bad thing for me…?

I didn't really know anymore…

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

*) Suicide Note  
Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 3  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Misty Fey's Testimony  
_Given to: Miles Edgeworth.  
„I was in the 20th floor of the Apartment Building around half past four on the afternoon oft he murder. I met Ms. Skye while ascending the stairs. She had nothing noticable on her and told me that her handbag was stolen. I saw other people, when I arrived in the 20th floor: A blonde girl and someone else."

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Claims to be a witness for this trial.

* * *

_Yeah, I know, I should have uploaded Crime Photo No.2 yet, so you can actually see all the stuff Nick claims to see on there. The thing is, I haven't finished that sketch yet. Lana just doesn't want to lie in that stupid shower the way I want her to lie in there... Argh..._

_Anyway, I tried to move at least something forward in this chapter, so I dropped some character specific hints here and there. Had especially much fun with Franzy. _

_And, yes, Krapfen do actually exist and, yes, they are pretty much doughnuts which lack the hole. Where I live, they are usually filled with Apricot Jam, which tastes wonderful. I had planned on giving Lilie an obsession with foreign foods for a long time, even since before I even knew how to put Franziska into the story. I eventually decided to make the first snack she shows up with in court a German one, so I can have Franziska act somewhat... cute. ^^; I don't know, maybe I watched too much Shakugan no Shana (No, Franzy is not gonna end up swooning over how much better Krapfen taste if you eat them the right way, don't worry. XD) but I just found that to be a nice touch. _

_When I got towards the end of this Chapter, I felt that Phoenix had taken enough beating yet and should finally, I dunno, at least step into action. I admit it, that's the main-reason for his semi-resolve here. Writing him in the Prosecution's bench is harder than I thought... Wheew..._


	13. A Slight Break

**May 2****nd****, 11:20am**

**District Court**

**Hallway**

I sighed as soon as the door to the courtroom was behind me. I was officially in the recess.

It was unusually quiet around me, despite all of the audience from the gallery leaving the room as well, chatting loudly and full of excitement as they did.

But there was nobody chatting with _me. _There were no friends of mine storming towards me to discuss my strategy … Of course not. 'My' friends were all on the Defense Team's side… as usual. Except that I wasn't on that team now. So they weren't with me.

Sure, there was Franziska right beside me but this… wasn't helping. I wanted Maya to come and jump around nervously, asking me how I plan to continue. I wanted Pearls to look at the floor, wondering how she can possibly help. I wanted my client to stand in front of me and tell me that they still believe I can do it. I wanted my opponent to step up towards me and taunt me about how I just barely got lucky and how this luck is not going to continue for long.

But all of this was not going to happen now. I sighed. The feeling of loneliness kicked in again.

Not too far away, I could see Edgeworth and Lana hurry to the Defendant Lobby. He was probably going to try to question her one more time… and she would just keep being stubborn. Lana was like this. If she wanted to go through with something, not even an atomic detonation could keep her from doing so. After all, she was the only Defendant to ever almost fire me mid-trial, just because she wanted to lose…

He was not gonna have an easy time getting any new information from her, that was for sure.

"Hm…"

A shiver went down my spine. Franziska beside me was making sounds that gave me the feeling that I was in acute danger of getting whipped…

She started talking to me.

"You got lucky. Your last objection may have been passable… But the rest was absolutely horrible and inacceptable in every way imaginable. Especially your 'preparation.' It is a catastrophe beyond all description. I hope you are aware of this."

"…"

I said nothing. I knew that trying to defend myself now would only provoke her, so I let it be. Franziska answered my silence with a loud, displeased grunt.

I just wanted to turn my head away when the young woman suddenly increased her pace, but she stepped before me, looked up at me, raised her index finger, pointed it me in the face and stated:

"I am going to prepare the witness now."

"Eh… what?"

She started clutching her sleeves again as she closed her eyes and explained. "You can claim that you are no rookie in this field a thousand times, yet it is painfully obvious that you have not even a hint of an idea how to prepare a trial. You did win us a chance to disarm the Defense's claims, yes… but this was nothing but luck! This trial is already taking much too long and Miles Edgeworth, unlike you, is not an amateur. At this rate, we are going down, as you are hopefully aware!"

"…"

I knew that she was right. Edgeworth hadn't shown us everything he had in store for us yet. I had seen that in his eyes when he requested that Mrs. Fey should testify. Still, what else could I do? The Prosecution had barely a hand full of easily dispelled evidence and a total of one witness. Sure, this was probably my fault, but there's no using crying over spilt milk, right, Franziska von Karma?

She didn't seem to see it that way. She was obviously determined to fix everything that went 'wrong' with this trial… Starting with the witness.

"_I _will prepare the witness now." She repeated. "_You, _however, will stay out of my way, until the end of the recess. Do you understand?"

Trying to object, I raised my arm.

"Hold it! I'm still the-"

*SLAP*

I would have to use the other arm for objecting after the recess… This one needed a break now.

"I repeat: Do you understand?" Franziska asked me so coldly. I could do nothing but just rub my hurt arm and back off a little.

"Y-Yes, m'am…"

"Hmph."

With this, she stepped away from me and left.

Left me behind alone in the hallway with nothing to do, that's it.

_(Great. No Misty Fey questioning for me, I guess. Argh... Von Karma…)_

For a few seconds, I just stood there, with me and my lonesome self. I could downright hear them, the metaphorical crickets, as they chirped to underline the fact that I was even more left alone now than before now. As weird as it may sound, suddenly Franziska's company didn't seem too horrendous of a thought anymore. At least she made _some _kind of noise. After years in Maya's company, I just wasn't used to… _silence _anymore. It felt creepy.

Finally, more out of boredom than thirst, I went over to the vending machine to get myself a Coke… Out came Orange Lemonade. Neat.

_(Oh boy… Is sorting the bottles before refilling the machine really such a hard task? Whoever is tending those machines is gonna see his salary shrinking soon… ARGH! What was that? Oh no, now I'm already starting to think like an __**actual**__ Prosecutor! Uh…)_

Frustrated, I opened the bottle, went over to the wall and leaned against it. The first sip already reminded me that I actually couldn't stand this brand of lemonade. But I bought it, and I just didn't want to let it go to waste.

_(I wonder what Franziska von Karma will tell Mrs. Fey… Will she bring her to omit parts of her testimony, like she did with her witnesses back then? …No, that wouldn't work. Edgeworth has her testimony on paper. He would notice and find a way to expose the Prosecution trying to influence the witness… which would be bad for me. Also, Misty Fey is an honest woman. I don't think she would just bow to Franziska's will, even if she uses that whip of hers…)_

I sighed. Not only was I alone, I was also up for thirty minutes of doing _nothing. _Joy.

"Hm…"

Slightly raising my head, my eyes rested on the door to the Defendant Lobby on the opposite side of the room and I couldn't take my eyes off it anymore. The Defendant Lobby… That was where I belonged right now. Not this hallway…. And least of all anywhere near Franziska von Karma. Big and inviting, the door was there and the almost habitually urge to go inside overcame me.

_(…Well, seeing as how I have nothing better to do, I might as well go pay Edgeworth a visit…)_

Pushing myself away from the wall, I went over to the Lobby.

I just wanted to take the door handle and open the door when I noticed that it wasn't even closed. The guards had somehow forgotten to make sure that it was properly shut after the last person entered. I got nervous. What now? Go inside and risk that whoever might be there is there to support Edgeworth? They may not be so pleased to see me… or just stand there and eavesdrop at them like a spy? Given their probable reactions, the second option seemed so incredibly tempting…

While I was still thinking, it was already too late. I heard them talking about me from the inside…

"…t-that wasn't like Mr. Wright at all, Miles!"

I couldn't help but step a little closer and try to catch a glance through the slightly opened door. The person who was currently talking was Maya… and, seeing as how she was jumping around Edgeworth like she was performing some kind of tribal rain dance, she was probably very excited.

_(Maya… Did she watch the trial from the gallery? I didn't notice her at all…)_

There was a simple reason for that: Maya was wearing the attire she had worn when I encountered her in the office the day before again… Her familiar medium garb was, once again, except for the pearls and the Magatama, gone. Somehow, this caused me to feel disappointed.

_(Why is she here…?) _I wondered. _(She has no direct connection to the Skye Sisters… This trial shouldn't even interest her… __O__n the other hand, it's Edgeworth VS. Me. She probably came to watch him 'crushing' me, like she formulated it yesterday…)_

Well, she certainly picked the right day for this. I was going to lose for sure and I didn't even feel bad about this, not even with all the beating I could expect from Franziska for it. However… why was it that Maya didn't look pleased then? For some reason, she appeared to be rather bothered by something.

"I mean…he barely even talked!" She continued, wildly waving her arms around. "He did almost nothing until that last Objection! I can't remember him ever performing that badly…"

"Me neither." Edgeworth answered, yet his voice didn't sound surprised at all. "I know that he's not a master of preparation and tends to only look at the evidence at the very last moment, but _this_ was some of the worst Prosecuting I have seen in years… The judge is right, he only came anywhere close to his usual form right in the end."

I frowned. Of course they were right… still, hearing this first hand was quite unpleasant.

Edgeworth went on to sigh with disappointment. I saw him slightly turning his head to the side. "And Franziska von Karma's attitude is, unfortunately, not helping in the slightest… Requesting the Prosecutor's office for help was a mistake. I should have known she would take that opportunity…"

'_He should have known'_?Now that got me interested. I tried to listen closer and find out what he meant by that… but Maya was already switching topics again. Thank you, Maya.

"Y-You requested _help _for him, Miles?" She jumped in shock. "But… he's the enemy! The bad guy! You can't help him! He's…"

"On our side." Edgeworth cut her short.

"Huh?"

"Well, with a little too much _passion…_"

There was a hint of worry in his voice as he said this. "It was obvious from the first minute that he wasn't very enthusiastic about prosecuting in this trial. Wright is deeply convinced of Lana Skye's innocence, Maya. He wants to lose. He even gave me full access to the crime scene and personally ordered the Detective to support me."

Maya's continuous blinking was a sure sign that Edgeworth's words were puzzling her.

"But…N-No way!" She stated and shook her head. "That guy… he hasn't lost a case in three years! Why should he be trying to let you win now? That doesn't make sense!"

"Still, this is how things are. Franziska Von Karma is probably the only reason we are still here. Would things go his way, this trial would have already ended, believe me… With a 'Not Guilty' verdict."

As Edgeworth said that, he lowered his head in a concerned kind of way. Maya picked that movement up and reacted to it with a question.

"And that's… bad?" She asked confused and Edgeworth nodded.

"Maya, this case is very far from being as simple as it seems. I need more time to investigate. Especially the witness' testimony is worrying me."

Maya put her fingers to her mouth, like she was wondering something.

"You mean… That doughnut girl?"

"It wasn't exactly a doughnut, but, yes, her." Edgeworth appeared very serious. "I tried to talk to her before the trial, but she was uncooperative beyond compare."

_(So he still did get to speak to Heatherd before Lana's suicide attempt…) _I realized. _(I wonder if he asked her the same questions as I did… judging by his cross-examination, probably yes.) _

"Probably because you're from the Defense team… "Iris wondered aloud, but Edgeworth shook his head. "No. She acted the same when Wright questioned her."

"Did he tell you that? How do you know he wasn't just lying about this?" Maya asked him skeptically.

"He didn't lie. You saw how he reacted when I cross-examined. He had no idea of the additional information that I managed to gather from her. This girl is hiding something crucial from both Defense and Prosecution. And I will need at least one more day to find out what this is…"

_(Lilie Heatherd…) _I thought to myself. _(Edgeworth is right, this girl really is the one obstacle to overcome in this trial. The Prosecution's claims stand and fall with her testimony… And if Edgeworth finds a way to break her believability, we have a whole long line of new suspects on hand… If I just knew what she is hiding behind her Psyche Locks…)_

I knew that trying to question her now was no use… She was probably in the cafeteria, which should now be crowded with people. Pressing her to reveal her secret in such a crowded place was bound to go wrong. She would find a way to wind herself out of my grip…

"But… if Von Karma's daughter was taken out of the way, we would win the trial and everything would be alright, right?" Maya asked Edgeworth enthusiastically, but he answered by shaking his head.

"No, Maya. We haven't found the true culprit yet. If the trial was to end at this point, simply due to the Prosecution's incompetence, this would give the killer a lot of additional time and chances to wipe their traces. We might never be able to find them this way."

It clicked in my mind when I heard this.

_(So __**that's **__the reason why he's so dead-set on me not messing up the Prosecution. He's trying to postpone the verdict, in order to gain time.)_

I continued to watch and saw Iris lower her head.

"I see… So Fee-… I mean, Mr. Wright is trying to lose this trial to help this woman…?"

"It still doesn't make any sense…" Maya mumbled. "I-I mean…"

She turned her head towards Edgeworth and got louder. "My sister is Lana Skye's best friend! I know that much! And Dahlia is Iris' sister! If he's really trying to protect Lana, why didn't he do the same for the two of them before?"

I bit my lip… That again…

The worst thing about this topic was that whenever it came up, I knew that whoever was talking about it was right and had every reason to be furious… Guilt was gnawing on my nerves despite me not even really having been 'present' when this trial took place. Actually, I still don't even really know what happened… Not even who the victim was…

"Wright…" Edgeworth sighed. He looked away from Maya. "Wright is… not quite himself at the moment, Maya. His priorities may have changed."

"Not quite himself?" Maya asked. She paused a moment, like she was wondering something. Her voice lost some of its volume and turned a little softer. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"…"

Edgeworth didn't answer. Probably because he had promised me not to dig to deep into the subject.

Iris seemed troubled by this reaction. She took a step towards Edgeworth:

"M-Mr. Edgeworth!" She exclaimed. "Is there something wrong with him? Please, tell me!"

"…"

"Please! I need to know! He… F-Feenie…"

I heard the nickname and blushed. And I knew that she was probably blushing too.

"Not _that _again!"

That was Maya.

"Iris, remember what he did? He's not your innocent, little 'Feenie', trust me! Forget the guy! You have to move on!"

"B-But…" I saw Iris moving her head. "H-he was so confused and scared… Did you see how frightened he was? I… I am sure that he really wants to protect Miss Skye, like Mr. Edgeworth said… He..."

Iris finally stood up completely straight.

"My Feenie wouldn't harm people! He's… He's a gentle person!"

My mouth slightly opened from the surprise. So… Iris still believed in me? After everything that happened?

I sighed.

She was too kind for her own good. She always had been. That was the sad fact.

I heard as she continued talking.

"And now… this young lady in his bench… Did you see how she keeps hurting him? That can't be allowed!"

"It isn't." Edgeworth told her. "But she is a Von Karma. You saw the kind of respect the judge shows towards her."

"That isn't respect!" Iris argued. "That's fear! This girl is trying to rule by spreading fear! And my Feenie… my poor Feenie…"

"Iris, stop it!"

Maya. And she sounded aggravated.

"'Feenie' here, 'Feenie' there, all the time… Iris, are you blind? He's been playing with you! Do you know how many convictions this guy has already gotten on his record? He doesn't care about people or justice! What he cares about is getting a neat, shiny trophy for his living room every year! He makes me sick!"

"Hm…" Edgeworth sounded unconvinced. "Maya… are you just saying this… or do you _mean _it?"

"W-What…?" Maya backed off a little. "What kind of question is that? Of course I mean it! After all he did... I just wish I could pay him back, Miles! And now, you tell me something about 'not being himself'… Yeah, right! If he really has an explanation for what he did, I want to hear it! Right from his mouth! And it'd better be a good one!"

_(But I don't have one Maya…) _I thought to myself and bit my lip. _(I wish I had one. But I can't explain myself… at all…)_

"…"

Edgeworth didn't reply to what Maya said right away. His eyes were wandering around the room, like he was searching for something, until they finally rested on…

I pulled back my head and froze.

_(…Crud.)_

"Well… Why don't you just tell him this face to face now, Maya?" Edgeworth finally replied, relaxed.

Maya didn't seem to be aware of what he meant.

"…Huh?"

"I mean…" He continued… and started glaring into a _certain_ direction. "Only if he has the decency to come forth from behind this half-opened door, of course..."

My direction. That's where he was looking.

I sighed… He got me. I should have just come in right away, instead of playing around. Finally, I just put my hand to the doorknob.

Both, Maya and Iris turned around and got big-eyed as I finally, with some hesitation, opened the door completely and stepped inside the lobby.

"Eh…"

They were looking at me like I was running around in heart-patterned boxer shorts.

_(Another awkward silence. Ah, just perfect.)_

"…Hi." I finally said, since it was the only thing that came to my mind.

Iris seemed a little unsure how to react. She kept alternating between looking at the floor, her fingers and me. "F-Feenie…"

"You…" Maya's voice trembled with rage. "You were _listening_?"

Her hands balled to fists. "Oh… How much lower can you sink?"

"You should calm down, Maya." Edgeworth told her calmly as she was just taking a step into my direction and I was subsequently backing off. "Giving in to blind rage will not do any of us any good."

"What are you saying?" Maya turned for him. "Miles, he _eavesdropped _on us! I'm sure he tried to figure out your strategy because he's doing so badly! That's proof that he still wants to keep his record clean!"

"I-I didn't eav-…" I started, but stopped right away when I realized what a blatant lie this statement was. "…OK, I eavesdropped! But it wasn't on purpose, I swear! I was just…" I said the last word with half the volume of the rest of the sentence. "…bored…"

Regardless, Maya had still heard me.

"Bored? Yeah, sure! I thought you had an interrogation to do!"

I tried to explain it.

"That's what I wanted to do, but Von Karma sent me awa-"

"So you left _my mother _alone with that whip-crazy lady?"

"…"

_(Wrong move, I guess.)_

Maya growled at me angrily in a way that made her sound like a hungry wolf. Ironic, since the look in her eyes made her look more like a furious lion.

"Well, that _does _it!" With those words, Maya turned around and made gestures: "Come on, guys! We'll go over there to the _jerk-less _side of the lobby!"

She demonstratively took the first step before she looked back again. "What are you waiting for?"

Edgeworth just crossed his arms and remained where he was. Iris, however, albeit after a bit of hesitation and alternating between looking at me and Maya, finally replied. "Ah… I'm coming…" and followed Maya, who then, after paying one last confused and slightly unappreciative look to Edgeworth, moved on towards the sofa on the room's other side.

I watched after them, somehow feeling like I just screwed over yet another perfectly good opportunity to talk to Maya… Then again, she would have reacted like this in any case, wouldn't she? It was no use. Maya was not going to hold a normal conversation to me. I should have probably just given up on this hope already.

After the two of them had already left a five meter radius around us, Edgeworth turned towards me.

His eyes seemed accusing, making me a little unsettled about whatever he was going to say or do now. Finally, he opened his mouth and asked in a voice that fit his expression very well.

"So tell me, Wright… What was it supposed to be what you were doing in the courtroom just now?"

"To be honest… I don't quite know just what I was doing in there…" I admitted to Edgeworth. I sighed and put my hand to my forehead. "But you were right about what you told them… If it wasn't for Von Karma, this case would probably be over yet… with you and Lana as the winners."

Edgeworth then glared at me in a way that said 'I knew it'.

"I told you not to go and lose the trial on purpose."

"I know, but… "I took a deep breath, looked at Edgeworth and shook my head. "I can't do it…"

"Do what?"

"This Prosecution stuff…"

I went over to the nearest chair and sunk down into it. "I tried, really… But I can't fight for something I don't believe. I don't want to. And if Lana was to be declared 'guilty' because of me… I don't think I could cope with that…Ah…"

I let my head sink into my palms and mumbled.

"And all this preparation …I wonder how you always manage to do this…"

"What did you say?"

I looked up."Oh- Nothing."

"Hm."

It was obvious that Edgeworth knew that I was lying, but instead of saying this out loud, he took the next chair he could find and sat down beside me.

"You barely prepared for this trial, did you?" He finally asked.

I shook my head. "I left you the Keycard, so I couldn't investigate the Crime Scene as much as I should have… leaving Gumshoe in charge was not exactly a great idea either."

"Obviously." He agreed. "What did you do all evening then?"

"I was at the concert and spoke to Maya. You gave me a ticket, remember?"

He nodded. "So, you actually went…?"

"Yes…" I sighed. "But I probably shouldn't have. Maya refused to talk to me. I probably only made it worse…"

I took another glance over to Maya.

"She wouldn't tell me anything, no matter what I asked. I understand her though. After what I did to Mia…"

"But you have, of course, no recollection of ever causing Mia Fey any harm, do you?"

I sighed and shook my head.

"No…"

"But you know her and Maya?"

I nodded. "Yes…"

"…"

"Say, Edgeworth…"

I decided to take this opportunity to ask a question that was bugging me since almost two hours now:

"While we're on relationships… What's the story between you and Franziska von Karma?"

Edgeworth reacted surprised when I asked this question… and then proceeded to evade my eyes. I tried to ask further.

"It's obvious you know each other. And she mentioned 'Revenge' when she spoke about why she took up the request… Does that have anything to do with your fathers?"

"…Heh…"

Edgeworth looked up and showed a thin smile. "I should have known that you would come to this conclusion… Yes, I know her. Her father and mine had a strong rivalry for several years. This is really most likely the cause for her being so insistent on her wish to beat me in court…"

"Most likely?" I asked.

"I don't know everything about this woman, Wright." Edgeworth told me. "But if there is one thing I know about her, it's that she is obsessed with perfection and does _not _tolerate failure, no matter what kind. A trait she inherited from her father…"

"…Manfred von Karma...'god' of Prosecution." I ended Edgeworth's sentence and he nodded slowly before looking at me in a serious way.

"Wright… This woman is dangerous. You have to be careful as long as she is in your bench. And you mustn't, no matter the condition, allow her to take control of the Prosecution. She can and will use dirty tricks to draw the judge to her side."

"...Like reformulating autopsy reports and influencing the witnesses' testimonies to her advantage?"

"Exactly." He agreed with a nod. "As detestable as this kind of tactics may seem, given all I know about her father, I am rather sure that she also uses them on a regular basis…"

_(I'd rather not tell him that the first attorney I ever saw using these kind of tactics wasn't Franziska or her father…but him.)_ I decided silently, slowly starting to wonder what 'this' Edgeworth would think if I told him about what 'could have been'…

"Now, it's my turn." Edgeworth suddenly told me out of the blue, startling me.

"Huh? Your turn for what?"

"Asking questions." He replied. "And since your question was about a relationship, I think I will do the same… You and Maya Fey…"

I gulped when I heard the name he said.

"…is there any kind of connection beyond the obvious ones between the two of you?"

Slightly intimidated, I didn't know how to react. What was I supposed to say now? What would make sense? …Probably only the truth.

"...I… know Maya quite well…" I told him. Then I turned my head away. "But… I'm not sure if she also knows me…"

"You are not sure…?"

"Edgeworth, I can't tell how much I can take for granted at all. Seriously, right now you could tell me that there's a law against red ties and I wouldn't have any other choice but to just believe you and take it off."

"The silliest comparison, if I ever heard one."

"…"

_(Isn't that pretty much exactly what this Heatherd girl told __**him **__before…? Ah, I'd rather not think about that too much.)_

I just shook my head to get the useless thought out and carried on.

"Anyway… I think that Maya has some kind of… 'Secret'… she acted weird when I tried to talk to her yesterday. Weirder than usual, I mean."

Edgeworth nodded. "I see what you mean… she does really react very suspiciously when one mentions certain details… especially regarding you."

"…"

I hesitated to ask the question I was about to ask.

"…Was 'that recent trial' the first time we met…?"

"It should have been, at the very least, the first time you had any kind of relevant contact with each other." Edgeworth stated. "I don't think your contacts with the Fey family ever expanded much beyond your relationship with Iris and investigation-related conversations with Mia Fey."

"I see…"

_(That's weird…) _I thought to myself. _(If Edgeworth is saying the truth, how did Maya know about my nickname then? And why did she use it?)_

"Of course, there's still the possibility…"

"…?"

Edgeworth had stopped the sentence before finishing it, but it was already too late since he got me interested. I looked at him eagerly to hear the rest. He understood and sighed.

"The O-Bon in Kurain, three years ago…"

"O… what?"

"A Buddhist celebration, honoring the spirits of the dead. As you can probably imagine, it is quite important for the people of this village."

I nodded. "And… let me guess… I was there?"

Edgeworth returned the nod. "With Iris. As well as me and Dahlia. As far as I know, every member of the Fey Clan was present, including…"

"Maya and Mia…" I said, remembering what Mia had told me the day before. When she had told me that she saw my smile before.

_(…She mentioned 'Three years ago, in Kurain', didn't she? This has to be it…)_

"…You puzzle me, Wright."

"Huh?"

Edgeworth saying this so suddenly caused me to discard the train of thoughts I had just been following and to turn to him. He seemed to be wondering about something.

"You know me, you know the Fey Women, the Skye Sisters, Detective Gumshoe… you seem to be even fully informed about the Von Karma family. Yet you show surprise every time I mention _any _event that took place later than our schooldays… Also you seem to still be well versed in law, yet fail to fulfill the duties of a Prosecutor."

He put one hand onto the table next to us. "I know I told you I wouldn't ask you any questions about your condition… but I can't help but notice those weird patterns and come to wonder: 'What is the meaning of this?' This is clearly no ordinary amnesia we are dealing with here. My logic reached a dead end… it doesn't do this very often, Wright."

"…"

_(What to say now…?)_

"I… I do have memories of what happened after our schooldays." I finally said in all honesty. "It's just that most of what I remember apparently never happened...or radically differently…"

"…So your memory differs from the facts?" Edgeworth asked me with a surprisingly cool look on his face. Slightly perplexed by how calmly he reacted to this, I nodded.

"Yeah… pretty much…"

"Now, that's curious…" He seemed to be thinking. "Is it even possible? To misremember almost seventeen years of one's life, while still being in sound mental condition?"

I frowned.

_(Great, he draws the same conclusion as Mia… Ungh… I better act as sane as possible now, or I might arouse fatally wrong suspicions…)_

"Well, Wright?"

"_I'm not nuts!_"

"...!"

I jerked a little when I realized that I had managed to startle Edgeworth to the point that he almost fell from his chair with this sudden shout. I started sweating.

_(Note to self: Body should always double check mind's instructions before trying to carry them out. Really.)_

"E-Eh… I mean…" I became a little insecure. "Does the… eh… 'mistake' really have to be on my part?... Maybe there's something going on here that we can't quite understand… I mean, there are Spirit Mediums involved, after all…"

"Hm…"

Much to my surprise, Edgeworth, judging by his face, seemed to be actually seriously considering what I had just said.

"Wright…Let us postpone this until after this trial is over… " He finally stated. "We have more important problems to take care of right now. We can still think about what the meaning of your condition is later."

I nodded. "Agreed. Eh… talking about 'postponing'… you wanted a day more for investigations, right? I just wonder how to persuade the judge of this."

"Don't worry about it. I know what I have to do." Edgeworth told me. He crossed his arms. "The bigger problem is your preparation… Or rather, the lack thereof."

"Oh, yes… Ehe …"

As I laughed my pathetic, little laugh of shame, Edgeworth seemed a lot less 'amused'.

"This isn't funny, Wright."

"Eh… Sorry…"

"The recess will last for another fifteen minutes. So, what are you waiting for?"

"…Uhm…?"

"Well, you could use the time to go through your evidence again, for example."

I sighed and shook my head.

"But I already checked it _trice. _It's just that it isn't helping much…"

"Or maybe you are just not trying hard enough…?" Edgeworth asked with a slightly resentful tone in his voice. "Remember, everything you have could be of crucial importance, no matter how unimportant and small it may seem in first glance."

"Hm…"

_(He's probably right… Well, let's see what I have.)_

I took out my evidence and quickly lined it up on the table.

"Well…This dart here is puzzling me…"

I picked up the bag with the small needle and showed it to Edgeworth. He looked at it a moment.

"This was found at the crime scene as well, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then it could have been used to stun the victim…" Edgeworth thought aloud.

I shook my head. "But we already found out that Ema was clubbed on the head. Why stun her twice?"

"Hm… I would say that it could be that the needle missed… But there is blood on it, which means that it hit…" Edgeworth stated. "Where exactly was it found?"

"Behind the sofa…" I replied.

"Are you sure that the blood on the needle is Ema's?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. They told me that the traces are too faint to analyze them. Theoretically, that thing could have hit anyone."

"I see…"

He let his eyes of the dart and put it back onto the table. I decided to ask him about one more thing and picked up another piece of evidence.

"While we're at it… I've been wondering about this rope for a while now… Something about it bothers me."

"Hm…" Edgeworth took it from me and eyed it searchingly. Then, he smiled. "Wright… did you really miss something as obvious as this?"

"Uhm… obvious?" I asked confused, while Edgeworth pointed at where the rope had ripped into two and explained.

"The rupture. Take a closer look at it. Isn't it unusual?"

"Eh… well…" I examined the rope again and finally, after a few moments of thinking, realized what Edgeworth meant. "...it… looks like had been partly cut before it ripped, doesn't it?"

Edgeworth nodded. "Exactly. This rope was cut with a knife before being used in the 'suicide attempt'."

"…!"

My eyes turned wide. Now that was important information!

"I see you understand what this means." Edgeworth looked satisfied. "Yes, Lana Skye could not have used it to hang herself with it. It was bound to rip."

"So… the 'suicide attempt'…"

"Was just as set up as the crime scene was. At least that's what I think based on this evidence…"

Wondering why I didn't notice this sooner, I kept my eyes fixed on the rope and thought about this.

_(Lana is a scapegoat… She probably was caught just as off-guard as Ema was. Now all we need is the actual culprit.)_

Edgeworth was already looking at the table with my remaining evidence again.

"Is there anything else you didn't examine thoroughly yet?"

"Uhm… No, I don't think so…"

That's what I said, yet Edgeworth's words got me to wonder if I really overlooked something when I examined the evidence. Those last ten minutes could be a chance to gather at least a little bit more information from them. Even though I doubted that I would actually find out anything new. My eyes wandered across the two notes, the victim note with Lana's name in blood and the suicide note which was allegedly written by Lana, my sketch…

_(…Ungh!)_

I quickly pulled that thing down from the desk, folded it as fast as I could and stuffed into my pocket. I nervously glanced over to Edgeworth.

_(Phew… Good thing Edgeworth apparently didn't notice it yet. I would die of shame if anybody saw this… Ah… Let's move on.)_

I took a look at the bag of treats that Ema had with her when she was killed. Could this be any help? …No, the only prints that were found on it were Ema's. I went on…

_(Huh?)_

My eyes rested on a little, rectangular package, wrapped in tissue paper. For some reason, I couldn't seem to remember what it was… I picked it up and unwrapped it. Quite surprised, I realized that it was a pack of Steel Samurai Trading Cards.

_(…Oh, right. I confiscated those from one of the officers, didn't I?)_

Just out of curiosity, I started browsing through the set of cards in my hand, while wondering how an adult person with any sense of dignity could be obsessed enough with this show to actually buy those overpriced pieces of cardboard and treat them like some kind of valuable collector's item. The pictures looked like they had been thought up by a hyperactive grade-school kid. In any case, those cards sure didn't belong in the court record…

_(Looks like I accidently put them to the evidence… Ah, I should probably just return them lat- HEH?)_

My eyes had stuck on something I didn't expect to see. When I rubbed them and this 'something' still wouldn't disappear, I put the cards closer to my face and continued to stare at them.

But no, I wasn't imagining it:

There was Maya on one of the cards.

Spirit Medium Maya in full garment, including hair-knot and Kimono. And as if that wasn't enough, just two cards later, I found Iris.

Maya and Iris. In Medium Garb. On Steel Samurai Cards. Sparkling Steel Samurai Cards, no less.

"Wha-…"

My voice was lacking the _octave _needed to fittingly express what I thought about this. And tuning it down to the next possible octave took me some moments. When I finally got it down, I didn't think much anymore. I jumped out of my chair and just exclaimed:

"What are _Maya _and _Iris _doing on those?"

"Hm?"

Edgeworth, who had just been checking on his own evidence, looked up to me, stood up and asked:

"What is the reason for this commotion, Wri—"

And that's where he stopped. For… some reason.

…Well, the reason was probably that he caught a glance of what I held in my hands. But his reaction was... actually quite disturbing.

He was silent all of a sudden… and then his eyes grew as big as saucers. Like those of a little child on Christmas.

When did I last see Edgeworth looking like that? Oh, that's right. _Never._

"You… You…You…"

_(Yes, I got it Edgeworth. This sentence is about me. Now…?)_

He finally found the words he wanted to say:

"You… _You got the limited edition Mayoi and Chinami cards from the 'Moonlight Showdown' series!"_

My reaction was less precise than this statement.

"I got what of whom from what?... UNGH!"

The next thing I knew was that Edgeworth was… _uncomfortably close _to me all of a sudden, pressing a little box from his pocket in my face.

"Here! I have in my possession two complete sets of the 'Merciless Adversaries' series and 'Way of Honor' series, as well as several incomplete sets!"

I could only just blink and stare. And blink. And stare. I was pretty sure that I looked rather close to what our dear judge tended to look like when he was absolutely clueless about what was going on.

And blink. And stare. Did I already mention the blinking?

"Please, Wright! You _need _to trade with me!"

"T-Trade…?"

"There are only 150 cards of each of those two in existence in this edition! I NEED them, er—Ah…"

He apparently was trying to calm down. This failed. The result was the weirdest forced smile I had ever seen in my life.

"Eh… I mean… Phoenix, my dear, old friend, please! I am sure there is something I can give you in exchange, correct?"

And blink. And stare.

_(Uhm… Edgeworth? Serious murder trial? Currently happening? ... __**Hello?**__)_

Good thing that I knew that this wasn't the world as I was used to it. Because this just broke my mind. I mean this sparkly-eyed, nervous Steel Samurai - I don't even dare using the word - _**Nerd**_ here was _Edgeworth_, for crying out loud! _Miles Edgeworth, _the master of seriousness!

I mean, sure he owned a large… large… _large_ Steel Samurai Doll in his office, even back when everything was still 'normal'… But there was no way he was actually like… There was _no way in hell_ he would actually act like…_THIS _kind of silly kids' show!

Right? _RIGHT?_

Please, somebody tell me that I'm right. I beg of you.

Save my poor mind from trying to comprehend… _THIS_.

Edgeworth was meanwhile doing all in his might to 'persuade' me. If I just had been sure of _what_.

He pulled out three cards from his box and downright smashed them into my face.

"Look, what would you think if I gave you the 'Blade of Cherries' as well as the Spring Edition of the 'Pink Princess' herself, as well as the 'Cry of the Iron Infant'? As you surely know, those three cards together boost each other's strength immensely!"

Blink. And stare.

_(Excuse me, but I don't speak fanboy.)_

"Listen… I-I don't need any cards!" I finally opened my mouth and exclaimed.

Edgeworth immediately pulled back his little box. And started glaring at me. I gulped.

What reason was there to _glare _at me now? Those were _cards! Trading cards!_

"So, you don't want to trade those two cards?" He asked with a tone so serious that it would have been funny, hadn't he been _goddamn glaring at me._

"N-No!" I finally spit out. "No, I don't want to trade!"

_(And now, please go back to being the more mature of us two. I __**beg **__of you.)_

"Hm."

_Superficially_, Edgeworth was back to normal. But I am putting emphasis on _'superficially'_ on purpose.

"Wright… you are forcing me to resort to a measure I was actually trying to prevent."

_(Eh…Should I be scared now?)_

This wasn't sounding very comforting. What was he going to do now?

I got the answer to this question when Edgeworth, before me, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and exclaimed:

"Wright has Mayoi and Chinami cards!"

You probably remember: I said before that the sofa Maya and Iris went to was on the other side of the room. But apparently even the rules of Physics weren't relevant anymore. Because somehow, barely a second after my dear friend Edgeworth had shouted this out into the air, the girls were back.

Big eyed, smiling in a way so overenthusiastic, it _frightened_ me.

And then, they leapt at me.

"KYA!"

"AHHH!"

I tried to dodge them, but didn't quite manage, as Maya grabbed me by the sleeve, pulled me back and down.

Before I could make any attempt to do anything at all, someone of the three of them – and I didn't even know who it was –had already taken the cards from me. A moment later, I found myself thrown to the floor, with my head hurting and me wondering what exactly just happened and why, when I heard how the voices above me started chatting loudly and in an excited high pitch.

"Ah! That picture looks so pretty, Maya! See? I told you that you looked perfect during that shooting!"

"Yours doesn't look bad at all either, Iris! Look, that picture totally brings out your chocolate side!"

"Oh, you think so?"

"Yes, of course! I just love how your braids look in that light! You look so elegant!"

A deeper voice –guess who's – joined in on the conversation.

"I have to say, the artist in charge really did a splendid job regarding the backgrounds and lighting on the pictures… A fine display of modern art."

I was just getting up when I had to hear this rambling.

_(Modern Art? Those are Trading Ca—AH! I give up!)_

"Hey… Iris, why are your stats so much better than mine? That's not fair!"

"Oh… I am so sorry…"

"You shouldn't be, Iris. Maya, take another look at the card. Can you see the stars? Your card may be lacking in terms of strength, but its negative karma is much lower than that of Iris' card!"

"Oh! Yes, that's right! Now I see it!"

All I could hear was 'Blah Blah Blah Cards'.

_( Time to end this little 'Steel Samurai Convention'.)_

"Now…"

I finally got back on my feet and saw the small group, consisting of Edgeworth and the two squealing girls who just continued to fawn over the pictures of themselves on the cards. I tried to get their attention:

"…would anybody please explain me what exactly your photos are doing on those cards in the first place? I thought this was just merchandise for a children's television show!"

"Ha ha ha!"

A familiar laugh… Maya turned around, towards me, grinning cheekily.

"Ah, Mr. Wright, Mr. Wright, you are so naïve! Marketing is something very complex! You can't just make assumptions based on the target demographic, you know!"

"…"  
_(What has that to do with __**anything**__?)_

"Oh? You don't know why Maya and I are on these cards?" Iris seemed puzzled. "Now, that is really weird… I mean, I told you about it, not too long ago. Can't you remember? We even watched the spot together…"

"Hm…" Edgeworth shrugged and shook his head. "Well, it seems like you are really not quite up to date regarding popular culture, Wright."

"Eh…"

Before I could say anything, Maya giggled. "Seriously, Mr. Wright, you need to pay more attention to the media!"

"But…"

"Yes…" Iris smiled and tilted her head. "You should listen to her. Otherwise you will always be lagging behind regarding the trends and embarrass yourself."

"…"

_(…said the girl who dresses like she escaped from an exhibition of medieval Japanese fashion.)_ I thought, eying Iris' pink double-layer Kimono and wondering if she wasn't getting hot in this thing.

"Well, I guess we should probably put poor Wright out of his misery, shouldn't we?"

Edgeworth smiled in a knowing way, telling me that he knew everything about whatever reason there was for Maya and Iris to be on that cards. He tried to make a big mystery out of it though.

"Apparently, since he doesn't remember the fact that Maya Fey as well as Iris Fey are… the actresses playing the villainous duo of the Shaman Sisters in the upcoming Steel Samurai movie _'The Treasures of the Golden Goddess'_!"

"A…Actresses?"

Maya and Iris were grinning merrily. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

"But… weren't you a Singer and a Spirit Medium?" _(Just when I thought I finally got it down…)_

"Well, this was actually kind of funny, Hehehe…" Maya laughed. "I've been singing Image songs for the Samurai shows for two years now. And when I was at the Studios to record the latest ending theme for the Pink Princess, I somehow ended up losing a few printed pages of that fanfic that I was writing…"

"Fan… fi…eh?"

Maya shone with glee like the sun with sunlight. "…the director stumbled across it and told me that it 'Owns' and is 'Made of WIN.'. The people from the studio then actually turned it into a script!"

Iris cheerfully continued the explanation.

"And now they are shooting the very first movie based on the Steel Samurai franchise in our village, with Maya and me."

"T-The movie is being shot in Kurain…?" _(Why can't I see Morgan Fey agreeing with that…?)_

The smile not wavering, Iris kept talking.

"You wouldn't believe how many people are already coming to visit us because of this now. Kurain is finally receiving a little attention again. And I'm glad to play a part in it."

"Don't forget the part you play in the movie!" Maya told her. "You'll surely get a lot of fans with this! You make a great evil witch!"

"Ah, really?" Iris seemed surprised by this statement, then smiled, flattered. "Well, I try my best!"

_(Evil witch…Iris. Ha Ha Ha… Somebody please turn off the Irony. Now.)_

They kept talking about the 'Samurai Movie'. I already felt like I was in a movie myself… The wrong one.

I watched, as they went back to squeal over their cards in girlish glee and talk about how awesome the movie was going to be.

Even though it was annoying me that they made such a big deal out of that show, I couldn't help but feel glad when I saw Maya like this…

…She wasn't yelling, wasn't growling, wasn't trying to bludgeon me to death, wasn't sobbing…

_That _was the cheerful Maya I knew. Even with all the frills and the different hairdo. Her laugh was exactly the same, as was the overexcited way she moved. Even though she was currently obsessing about something I couldn't and didn't want to understand, I still liked her a whole lot better like this. And so I watched and smiled.

Maybe I shouldn't have, because Maya, as soon as she became a little less excited again, noticed the way I was looking at her. After a few moments of staring, her face suddenly fell again. Like she had remembered again all of a sudden that she was supposed to be mad at me, she quickly pulled down her eyebrows again and, much to Iris' -who had actually still been laughing and not noticed that Maya had stopped right away - surprise, took the cards and went stiffly over to me.

"Here. We saw them. Now, take them back and go to your own lobby."

"I don't need them. You can keep them." I told her.

Maya didn't seem to like this response. "Well, I don't _want _them if they're yours!"

"And I know a very easy solution for this problem."

Edgeworth came over, quickly took the cards out Maya's hands, put them into his card-box, bowed politely and put it away. "Thank you."

He went back to where he was standing before after this, like nothing had happened.

"…"

_(I hope this was the last I saw of 'Miles Edgeworth: Samurai Fanboy' for today…)_ I silently prayed, as Maya continued talking.

"Anyway! This is _not _your lobby! So go away, before-"

She didn't get to say more. The bailiff's voice interrupted her:

"The court is about to reconvene! Please proceed back to the courtroom!"

Maya seemed startled when she heard this. Looking around somewhat disorientated for a second, she finally glared at me, hissing.

"You _like _ruining breaks, don't you?"

_(For a 'ruined' break you looked pretty happy back there…)_ I thought to myself.

"Up till now, Miles has been treating you with silk gloves, alright? But this will end now! Mr. Wright, you are so going down!"

I just calmly stood there and shrugged.

"Alright."

"W-" Maya backed off in surprise, "What?"

"Maya, Edgeworth told you, didn't he? I don't care about whether I'll lose or win this trial." I explained to her. "I only want to know who killed Ema. I want this person to be found so I can pay them back for what they did."

"But…"

What was this? For a moment I could swear to see a _smile _passing across Maya's face… but this vanished as quickly as it came. And then she shook her head and stated. "You're lying! As if you'd actually care about anyone like this!"

"Why are you so sure that I'm lying?"

"Because… because…" she obviously struggled with the decision whether to speak on or to let it be. Finally, she just shouted.

"You know the reason!"

She turned around and hurried out of the lobby, probably in order to retake her place in the gallery. Iris stood there for a few seconds, apparently pondering how she should act now, before finally bowing quickly and leaving after Maya, without a single word more.

"Hm…"

Edgeworth turned towards me.

"I'll see you in the courtroom. And, please… Keep an eye on Von Karma."

I nodded. "I will, don't worry."

He returned my nod. Then, he went to pick up Lana from a nearby chair. Telling a few words from her and getting not more than a nod for a response, he brought her to stand up from her chair. I noticed how she threw a quick glance into my direction as she did. Edgeworth then left the Lobby, expecting Lana to follow him.

She, however, stopped shortly before the door and raised her head.

"Mr. Wright."

"…?"

I was really surprised that she was addressing me all of a sudden… Did she wait until Edgeworth, Maya and Iris were gone, just so she could talk to me?

"What is it… Ms. Skye?"

She turned around and looked me in the eyes.

"Do you really want to destroy everything you and my sister worked for all those months so easily?" She asked me.

_(…What?)_

"Don't look at me like this." Lana continued. "I mentored you. I know what you are really capable of. So quit this charade and end this trial. I will be fine. All that matters now is that you carry on."

"You will be _fine_?" I asked a little shock. "Ms. Skye, the crime you're accused of is murder! They'll give you the death sentence!"

"I confessed, so the verdict might be reduced to a mere life sentence."

"A '_might' _is not good enough!" I told her. "I know that you are innocent! And if you end up before the executioner because of _my _prosecution …it would be like _I_ had killed you!"

"I don't mind." She looked to the side. "My sister is gone… I have nothing more to lose."

"But I mind!" I told her. "Ms. Skye, you're a good person at heart, I know it! It wouldn't be right to let you die for a crime you couldn't even commit! And Ema… I think I know her well enough to say that she wouldn't have wanted you to do this! No, she would have tried everything in her might to stop you!"

Lana looked at me silently for a few moments, before she lowered her head and sighed.

"Hm." She turned back towards the door. "Seems like the day has come…"

"What day?"

"The day you break down under your situation's weight…"

_(My… situation's weight?_)

"Mr. Wright… Do what you think is right."

I looked up. The exact same thing Mia had told me…

"I am trying to help you to sustain the façade for just a little longer." She told me. "But if you think that you found a better way to end this… I won't stop you from trying to pursue it. But please, remember the risk you are taking…"

After those words, she left the Lobby.

This was how the recess ended. And I was more puzzled than ever before.

'_You know the reason.'_

'_The weight of your situation.'_

Maya and Lana… both of them were speaking in riddles to me.

I wondered how I could solve them… If at all.

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

*) Suicide Note  
Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. The two sparkling cards had pictures of Maya and Iris on them. They're now in Edgeworth's possession.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 3  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Misty Fey's Testimony  
_Given to: Miles Edgeworth.  
„I was in the 20th floor of the Apartment Building around half past four on the afternoon oft he murder. I met Ms. Skye while ascending the stairs. She had nothing noticable on her and told me that her handbag was stolen. I saw other people, when I arrived in the 20th floor: A blonde girl and someone else."

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Claims to be a witness for this trial.

* * *

_Despite the two Samurai card with Maya and Iris on them no longer being in Phoenix' possession, you're still able to take a look at them in the Court Record Section of my Profil, starting today. And yes, they're a parody of YuGiOh Cards, Layout and all. There will be more about that Steel Samurai movie later on, but for now the trial goes back to being... serious. In any case, get ready to count all the Anime clichees and references that will inevitably happen._

_I originally planned to reveal Phoenix', eh... "state of mind" to Edgey and the Feys in this chapter, but decided that this was interupting the stories flow and cut it out. Also, this chapter made me realize how much increasingly thinner my planning for future chapters has become... I'll need some time to sit back and figure out how exactly everything will proceed from now on, before I actually go on to write the next chapters. The layout is a little vague from here on... I know WHAT is gonna happen, I just don't know in which order it's gonna happen. _

_I had fun making Edgeworth freak out over those two cards. I dunno, when I came up with that scene, I just had Penny Nichols' reaction upon finding that you have the card she's missing in mind. Generally, it's always fun to see how hilariously serious Edgeworth takes this Power Rangers-esque children's show. If Phoenix knew that Edgeworth being a Steel Samurai fanboy was, in fact, NOT a result of the timeline being screwed up, he'd probably be rather... shocked. XD  
_

_By the way, Gykuten Kenji 2 was announced. It will be set in Sakura season, a.k.a. late March. Of the year of T&T. _

_Thus Capcom has, once again, sucessfully managed to avoid getting Edgeworth involved in Turnabout Sucessions in any way. -.-; _

_Capcom, you're cheap cheaters!_

_Gyakuten Kenji 2 will also feature a new judge. A female new judge. A female new judge, who looks like a cross between Mia, Dahlia and Lulu from Final Fantasy X. Her name is "Hakari Mikagami", which translates out to "Scale Water-Mirror". _

_Explaining the pun in Water-Mirror would take long, so I'm not gonna do it now, but I think her first name is... obvious, given what the symbol of law, as well as the goddess Justitia is. _

_Oh, she also has a stretch-able gavel._

_Anyway, everybody, read you later.  
_


	14. Rule of the Feys

**May 2****nd****, 11:50am  
District Court  
Courtroom No.2**

And again the crowd was loudly chatting up in the gallery. The judge had not yet retaken his spot in the courtroom, so there was no reason for them to stop talking.

I was quite tense. Misty Fey was going to testify now… for me, this would be the first time I would hear her testimony. And this Testimony would decide whether the two people, who, according to Lilie Heatherd weren't supposed to exist, actually visited the crime scene or not. I wished I had gotten to talk to her myself in the recess, but all I had was Franziska and her witness-preparing habits…

Judging by her face, however, it didn't quite work out the way she wanted this time. Still, she seemed calm and not really worried, despite this.

"What a stubborn, stubborn witness…" She told me, without even opening her eyes. "Yet, there is one crucial problem with her testimony, which will prevent it from being of any use for the Defense."

"And that would be?" I asked knowing that this was exactly what she wanted me to say.

Franziska looked at me.

"It is meaningless."

"…?"

"The testimony…" She went on to tell me. "…won't influence the trial in the slightest.

She seemed rather sure of what she was saying.

"Our witness may have testified that no other person entered the floor in question in the relevant timeframe. Still, it is possible that she just missed this woman or ignored her. As you might have noticed, our witness displays a tendency to not pay attention to things she finds to be of no interest to her, and Miles Edgeworth's witness is a plain woman of middle age with plain black hair. She would have been easy to miss."

_(Mrs. Fey was wearing a normal sweater when I saw her before… and that pearl necklace may be huge, but not striking enough to necessarily make her stand out. Really not exactly a sight that would stay on one's mind for long…)_

"And the 'third' witness, she allegedly saw…" A slight smile passed across Franziska's face."…won't be found."

"Huh? Why is this?" I asked.

"Because she never saw this person's face." She explained. "And since our witness testified that she never saw this third person, it will be easy to dispel the Defense's claims. All you need to say is that the other person probably never went anywhere near the crime scene and has no connection to this case."

"And the handbag?" I asked. "If Lana Skye had nothing on her when she met the witness-"

"She left it in your Apartment during her last visit." Franziska cut me short. "Isn't this obvious?"

"Eh…" I looked at her with the most puzzled face I had in stock: "When did we find _that _out?"

"Never." She told me, keeping her voice rather low… I suspected that she didn't want anyone else to hear her. "I decided that this was probably how it happened. Same applies to the found rope. She set them all up in your apartment and waited for the right time to fulfill the deed. And you never even noticed, you poor, foolish fool…"

"Wait! I- I can't just go with this!" I couldn't help but shout. "I don't remember seeing Lana's handbag in the apartment, not to mention this huge rope!"

And I was quite sure that they hadn't been there. When I had aimlessly stumbled through the rooms the day before, looking for the exit, I had seen every room. And there was no handbag in the living room, let alone the bathroom. Not to mention a huge rope… Where do you even hide a huge rope in an apartment that isn't yours?

Franziska, however, glared at me.

"You probably missed them. Just like our witness missed Mrs. Fey. When Miles Edgeworth brings up the "stolen" handbag again, you will object. And this is what you will object with. Do you understand?"

"Von Karma…"

"You will not disgrace the-" She stopped a moment to think before she finished the sentence. "I mean… you will not disgrace my name with a pathetic loss caused by mere incompetence. Not as long as I am here."

I was about to call her something - something nasty, if I remember right- when, thankfully, the Judge's gavel interrupted me. This probably spared me from some more whipping.

"Court will now reconvene!" He raised his voice, as the last chatting spectators in the room fell silent. "Now, Mr. Wright, is the witness ready?"

I nodded, despite not even having seen the witness in question during the recess:

"…Yes, your Honor. Due to the Defense's request, I call the woman who claims to have seen both the previous witness and the defendant on the day of the murder to the stand."

And with those words, the courtroom doors swung open. Led by a bailiff, Misty Fey entered the room and slowly stepped up to the stand.

Everyone was quiet. It was probably the sheer calmness which she emitted that caught their attention. Like a female Buddha, content with everything and ready to accept everything that may come… this is what Misty Fey looked like when she stepped forward.

"Oh…" The judge seemed quite amazed. "Witness, excuse me if this sounds inappropriate… But I have to say… you look quite lovely for someone your age…Hm..."

"Ha Ha Ha… I thank you, Your Honor. You truly flatter me." Misty Fey stated warmly, bowing slightly as she did. "But there is no reason to praise me for what appears to be my inheritance. We women of the Fey Clan have always been gifted with a certain beauty... "

Reminded of something by that line, I turned my head towards Franziska.

"…"

She quickly noticed that I was looking at her.

"…What is it?"

"Uhm… Nothing." I quickly told her before I went on mumbling. "I just kind of expected you to say something now… '_Just like we of the Von Karma family have always been gifted with perfection!_'… or something among those lines…"

"…!"

All of a sudden, there was this alarmed look in Franziska's eyes. And before I could react, she had already taken action.

*SLAP*

"OW!"

As she angrily posed with her whip, like she was threatening me to deal another strike, I just rubbed my arm.

_(Note: Keep my thoughts about Franziska to myself from now on…)_

Mrs. Fey carried on talking to the judge in the meantime.

"Still, Your Honor, we shouldn't forget that I am not here to receive your kind words, but to further your progress in this case. And I ensure you that I am hoping with all my heart that my testimony will help you and the two young men here in their benches to make the right decision. This trial should end with nothing but… the truth."

"I agree with the witness on this matter." Edgeworth stated. He was calm as well, yet his brand of calmness was very different from Mrs. Fey's brand of calmness, which became incredibly apparent by seeing the two of them speak right after each other…

And, I have to admit, I preferred Mrs. Fey's warm attitude quite a lot. She was somehow, almost… divine. Like a character from a fairytale.

For a moment there, I could downright _see_ imaginary Asian Cherry Blossoms float by behind her… That's how impressive her calmness was.

After assuring myself that the witness, the judge, nor Edgeworth had anything else to add, I looked to the witness stand and said my lines.

"Please state your name and occupation, witness."

She nodded.

"My name is Misty Fey. I am a Spirit Medium in the tradition of the Kurain Channeling Technique… I also write and illustrate children's books in my spare time."

_(Seems like this lady was destined to write books…) _I quietly thought to myself. _(…Well, since she's not the Master here, I guess she has enough spare time to do so.)_

"A Medium?" The judge asked. The sense of wonder on his face couldn't be denied. "You mean… you see dead people?"

"I guess, you could express it like this, yes." Mrs. Fey confirmed.

"This is quite an… unusual occupation."

"Your Honor…" Edgeworth was talking. "The Fey family has practiced Spiritualism for many generations now. It is only natural for Mrs. Fey to pursue this lifestyle as well, so I would like to ask you not to judge her and the validity of her testimony based on this fact. As you see, she even appeared in civilian clothing before this court today."

Mrs. Fey nodded. "It appeared to be the proper thing to do for me, seeing how this is a court of law."

"Ah, I see… very thoughtful of you, Mrs. Fey." The judge agreed.

I couldn't agree more…

_(It's really nice to see a halfway normal person testify once in a while. Also…Well, if Maya would ever be as thoughtful as her mother here, it surely would save us a lot of odd looks…)_

I had to remember quite a few awkward situations the two of us had gotten into… And immediately regretted doing so, when a nostalgic feeling kicked in. Once again, I could feel that it was painfully _wrong _that the person next to me in the bench just wasn't … Maya. It was _her _who belonged there. Not Franziska.

Sighing, I went on to "say my lines."

"Mrs. Fey, you claim to have visited the scene of the crime half an hour prior to the murder?"

A nod.

"This is true."

"Then, please, testify regarding what you saw and did there."

"I will."

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**At the Apartment Building**_

"_I paid the building in question a visit on the day of the murder._

_I used the stairs to ascend to the 20__th__ floor and arrived, but found the person I intended to visit to be absent and left again._

_When I headed for the stairs again, I saw two people, one of them a young lady with blonde hair._

_When I was about to leave the building again, I met Ms. Lana Skye._

_She had nothing but her clothing on her__,__ and she told me that her handbag was stolen." _

"I see…" The Judge just nodded. "This sounds believable enough."

_(But there's one thing that bugs me…) _I thought slightly nervous. _(…Why was she there in the first place? If nobody but Heatherd was at home, she couldn't have possibly been there to visit someone… could she?)_

The reason why Misty Fey would visit the apartment where I, of all people, live… With my connections to the Fey family… Could this possibly be a coincidence?

(Anyway, Franziska is right. Standing like this, this testimony doesn't prove or disprove anything as long as it stands in conflict with Heatherd's. Edgeworth won't have any choice but to press her until something important transpires… Okay.) I tried to be as focused as possible. (This time, I won't just stay back and watch… Mrs. Fey is Edgeworth's witness, after all. Should he miss any contradictions, I can still try to point them out.)

"Mr. Edgeworth, you may now cross-examine the witness."

"Very well, your Honor."

~-Cross-Examination-~

"_I paid the building in question a visit on the day of the murder."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"When exactly did you arrive, if I may ask?" Edgeworth started.

"16:20", she answered. "Still, ascending the stairs took me ten minutes, so I only arrived at the 20th floor ten minutes later."

"Why did you enter the building in the first place?"

"I wanted to visit someone." Mrs. Fey went on to explain.

"Visit?"

She nodded. "Yes…"

"_I used the stairs to ascend to the 20__th__ floor and arrived, but found the person I intended to visit to be absent and left again."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"So, the person you wanted to pay a visit was an occupant of the 20th floor?" Edgeworth pressed the statement, to which Mrs. Fey replied with yet another nod.

"Yes, this is true."

_(Hm… This makes sense.)_ I thought a bit. _(Heatherd claimed that everyone was absent that day…)_

Edgeworth didn't leave Mrs. Fey with her statement alone, however:

"And the person you intended to visit was…?"

"…"

Mrs. Fey looked a little hesitant, but, in the end, she just nodded and said:

"The person I wanted to meet was…" She turned to the left… facing the bench of the Prosecution.

"You, Mr. Wright."

_(…. Heh!)_

I stared at the witness, who didn't allow her calm smile to be even the least bit disturbed by this.

I could hear the people in the gallery behind me starting to whisper to each other in utter surprise.

Edgeworth hit his desk with one hand.

"Witness! This means you were trying to access the scene of the crime just barely half an hour before! Why didn't you state this in your testimony right away?"

"Because…" Misty Fey closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded and opened them again. "I knew that you would naturally conclude that I would have had no reason to visit Mr. Wright and go on to have me explain why I wished to meet him. Knowing that a discussion about my motivations wouldn't further this trial, I tried not to mention it… After all, a young woman's life is on the line. I thought it would be better to save as much time as possible… I apologize."

However, I was more than just curious now.

And Edgeworth, for some reason, seemed satisfied.

"Mrs. Fey, as noble as your intentions may be, we need to know every detail." He told her. "Please add this statement to your testimony!"

She nodded.

"Very well."

"_The person I wanted to visit was you, Mr. Wright, but you weren't at home."_

"**HO-  
**

"**HOLD IT!"**

I had interrupted Edgeworth and thrown in my own question before he had a chance to ask his. He didn't look pleased by this, but I tried to ignore it. I just had to ask her something about this now… something that struck me as incredibly odd.

"Mrs. Fey… my doorbell has been searched for finger-prints… and yours weren't on it. Actually, there were none at all." I told her. "If you really tried to visit me, why didn't you touch the doorbell then?"

"Oh… " Mrs. Fey seemed pretty surprised by my attack on her testimony. She put her hand to her mouth – in a manner which reminded me an awfully lot of Maya- and asked:

"So it isn't true? Your doorbell wasn't broken?..."

"…?"

I stared at her a little puzzled as she went on to explain.

"Well, I heard from Iris that it had been broken for months… " Her smile returned, albeit looking a little different from before. "I still remember what she said: '_Feenie can be so forgetful sometimes. Of course he never forgets anything regarding his work, but has kept forgetting to get someone to repair this broken bell for half a year now…_'"

"S-So the bell was… broken?"

I broke out in a cold sweat. I knew what this meant. And Edgeworth knew it as well. He had crossed his arms already, waiting for his chance to talk:

"I see… so the untouched doorbell does not mean that nobody came to visit Mr. Wright…"

"Hm…" The judge listened closely. "Forgetful indeed, Mr. Wright. Had you mentioned this earlier, it would have saved us a lot of unnecessary trouble in the last cross-examination."

He glared at me from up in his seat, making me feel like the smallest, most unimportant person in the world. I gulped.

"E-Excuse me, your Honor..."

_(So that stupid doorbell was nothing but a Red Herring…?...No, there was something else…)_

"Wait!" I banged the desk and tried to get everyone's attention. "This means that everyone who could have visited me in the relevant time-frame knew of the doorbell!"

"And who was the likeliest person that knew of the doorbell?" Franziska suddenly raised her voice and smiled satisfied. "The owner's mentor, Lana Skye, of course! As the court can clearly see, even with the list of logically possible suspects greatly reduced, the Defendant is still on the very top!"

_(Ugh!) _the shock of realization hit. _(That's not what I wanted to say!... Uhh… Franziska…)_

I had no choice now but to go with it. After all, in the eyes of everyone else, there was no reason why this conclusion should bother me. Still, there was something else that I couldn't just let pass by, so I took my opportunity and raised my voice again.

"**HOLD IT**!"

I was glad to see that Mrs. Fey's attention was at me immediately. She tilted her head a little:

"Yes?"

"Your… Your reason!" I started. "I am the Prosecutor who got your eldest daughter a life-sentence! What reason could you possibly have to visit me?"

And right after I had said this, the gallery got loud. Some of the voices were surprised, others outraged. I, thankfully, couldn't understand a thing they were saying… Probably most of it wasn't too positive for me anyway.

The judge swung his gavel. "Order! Order in the court! …Mrs. Fey, would you please answer the Prosecution's question. I have to admit, I'm a little curious regarding this as well…"

"Hm…" She lowered her head a little. "I was afraid that you would ask this. Still… The reason for my visit was quite… unusual. I am afraid it may cast doubt on me if I reveal it."

"Mrs. Fey…" This was Edgeworth. "We need to know everything you can tell us. No matter how small and unimportant the details may seem."

"I… see…" Mrs. Fey still seemed a little hesitant, but she finally raised her head again and spoke.

"_I will tell you the reason for my wish to meet Mr. Wright, but you must promise me to not judge my credibility based on it."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

Edgeworth leaned forward a little and looked straight at the witness.

"Mrs. Fey, I promise you, the court will not draw conclusions about you based on your words, and they will not influence your testimony's worth in the slightest, given that they don't contain a contradiction, of course."

Mrs. Fey nodded. "Then I will take your word for it, Mr. Edgeworth…"

She took a short break, breathed, then continued.

"As Mr. Wright mentioned before, it wasn't too long ago that my elder daughter, Mia Fey, stood right here in this witness stand, testifying for her own innocence. But her pleas were rejected. The man whose reasoning this can be accounted too… Is once again standing in the bench to the left side of this stand today."

Right on cue, the loud chatting in the courtroom started once again. The judge didn't need to swing his gavel, however, since it had stopped as soon as Misty Fey continued.

"On this day, I was present here, watching the proceedings from the gallery… and while this man spoke… spoke about what he claimed to believe had happened… that was when I saw them."

"What did you see?" Edgeworth asked.

For some reason, Mrs. Fey touched her necklace before she continued with a mysterious, unreadable expression on her face.

"The chains."

I immediately listened up:

"Ch-Chains?"

_(She can't be talking about…)_

"Yes…" She nodded. Her eyes slightly slanted as she did. "The chains which closed off the Prosecutor's heart tightly as he spoke, keeping it from revealing its true feelings… I saw it, Mr. Wright." She looked into my direction. "On the surface, you appeared to be confident and sure of what you were saying… but actually, you were closing yourself off, weren't you? You hid behind those chains, Mr. Wright. And I saw it."

I backed off when Misty Fey looked at me with intense eyes… Intense eyes which I believed to recognize from somewhere. I suddenly remembered the dream I had the night before…

'_You're a liar, Mr. Nick.'_

…That was what the Pearl Fey in that dream had told me, right? How Misty Fey looked at me…She was smiling, and yet it felt eerily similar to the merciless, accusing look Pearls had given me in that dream…

_(She can see Psyche Locks…) _I realized. _(Probably even without an aid and within a much farther range than I can… 'I' lied and displayed Psyche Locks during that other trial and she saw them…)_

I got nervous. Mrs. Fey's eyes were still on me, in a suspiciously focused way…

_(D-Does she see them right now…?)_

The thought that somebody may be looking _into my soul_ right now at this very moment made me feel uneasy and unprotected… What if she was already subtly trying to break them? Right now? After all, I had no idea what kind of techniques a fully educated Spirit Medium with more than twenty years of experience could use…

"You let yourself be intimidated by an unarmed woman? What a coward you are." I heard Franziska tell me from the side before she faced towards Mrs. Fey. "Chains, you say? The only chains I believe in are those I can see and can touch, like the chains my victims leave the courtroom in! Just like the only discipline I believe in is the discipline I enforce myself! Watch and learn!"

*SLAP*

"YARGH!"

_(What did I do, what did I do, what the hell did I ever do to you?)_

"I am only telling you what I saw." Mrs. Fey assured us.

"… If I may ask, in what relation does this stand to the visit you attempted to pay Mr. Wright?" was the legitimate question Edgeworth then asked.

"In a very important relation." Mrs. Fey claimed. "After I saw his shut off heart in the courtroom that day, my curiosity took me over and I decided that I had to know what exactly it was that he had been trying to hide behind those chains. So I planned to see him in order to use my knowledge to undo the blockades and have him tell me the truth."

The judge stared at Mrs. Fey with big eyes.

"Excuse me, witness, but did I understand this right? You wanted to perform some kind of …'exorcism' on Mr. Wright?"

And, once again, the crowd in the gallery had started talking uncontrollably.

I just watched and sweated.

'Exorcism'…? I never look at the whole Psyche-Lock breaking deal this way, really…

_(Does this make me an Exorcist-Lawyer? Well, sounds still more trustworthy than a Ghost Hunter-Plumber, I guess…)_

Misty Fey had been right: This really didn't do any good for her credibility. I could see how quite a few of the people in the gallery eyed her skeptically… at the same time, however, a large number of them were also eying _me _in quite a similar way. No wonder, actually. Mrs. Fey had just stated that she 'felt' me lying during the last trial…

I took a look over to Edgeworth while the crowd was still rambling. His expression showed a hint of… disappointment.

"And… this was your only reason for visiting this building on that day?"

Mrs. Fey nodded. "The only reason."

Edgeworth's face read '_Well, this was sure pointless'_ when I saw him putting his palm to his forehead and sighing. "I see, Mrs. Fey. Please continue with your testimony."

_(Well, getting useless information is a risk you have to take when pressing everything, Edgeworth.)_ I quietly thought.

"_When I headed for the stairs again, I saw two people, one of them a young lady with blonde hair."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Blonde hair… The other witness, I assume?" Edgeworth asked, holding a photo of Lilie Heatherd between his fingers.

Mrs. Fey smiled. "Well, yes, I am quite certain that it was this girl."

"She claims she didn't see you." Edgeworth went on.

That moment, I felt Franziska's cold glare in my neck. Deciding that I had gotten enough of whips and bruises for today, I quickly raised my arm.

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Ms. Heatherd is not exactly a very attentive person, Edgeworth."

Edgeworth nodded. "…Indeed."

"So… couldn't it be that she merely missed Mrs. Fey when she passed by?"

"...!"

Edgeworth kept his cool, but I was experienced enough with him to tell that this caught him slightly off-guard. I went on.

"Well… Mrs. Fey is good-looking, but not striking. And she wouldn't exactly catch the eye of someone like our other witness. So it's entirely possible that she just walked past her. And as for that other person… We have no idea if this 'third' witness actually went anywhere near the crime scene. They could have just passed by while ascending the stairs."

"…Hm…"

A short pause followed. I saw Edgeworth closing his eyes. He stayed silent for a few seconds then.

Putting his hand to his forehead, he looked like he was thinking about something. Finally, he looked at me again. A smirk appeared on his lips.

"Ha Ha Ha…"

…Did Edgeworth just laugh?

It hit me pretty hard, so I was a little startled when I heard it. The next thing I knew was that I saw him smiling satisfied.

He raised his arm.

"**OBJECTION!"**

"I'm afraid that what you just said… is incorrect, Mr. Wright. I _can _prove that Ms. Heatherd should have noticed Ms. Fey… right here with the information on hand."

"…?"

As I was still trying to figure out what he meant, Edgeworth had already crossed his arms and continued speaking.

"If the court would please remember what Mrs. Fey told us just now: The very reason she visited Mr. Wright was her intention of performing a kind of… spiritual technique on him."

"Yes…?"

I probably didn't look like I was taking this serious at the moment. Probably because his bringing up Mrs. Fey's intention to break Psyche Locks on me was the last thing I expected him to do. It caused me to be dumbstruck.

_(Where is he going with this? I thought we were done with that statement…)_

The satisfied smile was still on Edgeworth's face.

"Now, Mr. Wright… I know for a fact that you are not a stranger to the practices of the Spiritualists of Kurain village… So tell me, in what kind of garb do the Fey Women usually perform their duties?"

"Uhm…" The mental images of Maya and Pearl came to mind, but still no clue what he was trying to tell us with this, I just went on to describe. "Well… I would call it 'traditionally Asian', I guess. They wear Kimonos, have striking hairstyles, a lot of pastel-colors… In any case, it's something you don't see every da-"

I opened my eyes wide before I had even finished the last word.

"…!"

Edgeworth apparently read my reaction. And he seemed to like it.

"I see you finally understand what I mean."

"Would you please explain it once again for the court then, Mr. Edgeworth? In detail? " The judge suddenly asked. "Because _I_ don't really see what this is supposed to mean."

"It is actually quite simple, Your Honor: Look at Mrs. Fey before us. While it is true that she would not stand out in a normal environment the way she appears before us today, this is most likely not what she was dressed like on the day of the crime… Isn't this correct, Mrs. Fey?"

Misty Fey smiled and bowed quickly. "Yes, this is true."

"Really?" With surprised eyes, like he really hadn't expected this answer, he asked "If I might ask… what were you wearing then this day, witness?"

"…"

After a slight pause, she closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side.

"A rose Kimono and a red Obi."

This was exactly the answer Edgeworth had been hoping for. His face said it all.

"A quite unusual way to dress in our society, isn't it?"

Mrs. Fey nodded. "Probably..."

"So, as you see, your Honor…

Edgeworth raised his voice dramatically.

"…there was no way Ms. Heatherd could have possibly missed or forgotten Mrs. Fey's attempted visit if she was dressed like this!"

"Oh!" He apparently impressed the judge. "Why… This is true, Mr. Edgeworth!"

"Still, I am not surprised that she didn't see me."

"…?"

This had been surprising and sudden. The eyes of everyone in the court, including mine, were at Mrs. Fey now.

The judge blinked a few times.

"What do you mean, witness? Didn't you just state that you were dressed… in an unusual way?"

"Yes, but it is still very likely that she missed me." Mrs. Fey smiled. "After all… she was entering her apartment the moment I saw her. I only know that it was her because I saw her hair and her clothing."

Silence.

The whole courtroom was silent. The judge's eyes were wide. And Edgeworth… dumbstruck. He leaned forward and asked carefully.

"Witness, you heard Ms. Heatherd's testimony before, correct?"

Mrs. Fey nodded. "Yes, I did."

Edgeworth hit his desk. "In her testimony, she stated that she didn't leave the hallway even once! So you should be aware that this statement directly contradicts what Ms. Heatherd told us!"

Another nod. "I am also aware of this."

"Then why didn't you tell us of this right away?"

Misty Fey kept her composure despite all of this, which gave her a kind of mysterious aura.

"I thought that it was already well established that my testimony and that of the young lady stand in deep conflict, Mr. Edgeworth?" She finished. "So is it really necessary to search even more contradiction between them, when all you really need to do is find out who's lying?"

_(She's right… ) _ I let my eyes wander around between Edgeworth and Mrs. Fey. While the former looked a little strained now, the latter had remained calm the whole time. _(…No matter how many contradictions between the two testimonies Edgeworth finds, they are useless if he can't prove __**why **__those contradictions are there… I think that's where I'm supposed to step in.)_

True to my promise to try to fulfill my role in the courtroom, I banged the desk and got the court's attention on me.

"Your Honor, the witness just showed us herself that what the Defense found out changes nothing about the situation!" I explained. "This is just one more way in which the two testimonies contradict each other! This is leading us nowhere!"

"Hm… yes, I'm afraid Mr. Wright is right about this." The judge shook his head. "Mr. Edgeworth, if you can't prove that your witness is the one who says the truth, I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to dismiss her and move on without her testimony."

"Your Honor, if I might make a request..." Edgeworth had a determined look on his face. "There might be a way to find out which witness is the liar."

I looked at Edgeworth. "You mean… the third witness?"

Edgeworth nodded. "Yes. If I was able to determine this person's identity, it should be possible to prove that Lilie Heatherd indeed left her spot in the hallway for several minutes, rendering her testimony untrue."

"Hm… I see." The judge nodded. "Yes, this could help… Mrs. Fey, would you please testify regarding the second person you saw?"

Mrs. Fey looked up to the judge and nodded:

"It will be a short testimony… but if it will be of help, I'll tell you what I can."

"This will not help him." Franziska whispered to me from the side. "I asked her about the third person when I questioned her in the recess…"

"And she never saw that person's face…" I remembered.

"Exactly." Franziska smiled. "Miles Edgeworth has maneuvered himself into a dead end with this question. And once he runs out of ways to win information off her testimony…"

She raised her right hand and slowly balled a fist, like she was trying to squeeze an invisible object in her palm. Her smile turned into a vicious grin. "This trial will soon be over. He only has this one witness to back up his claims, after all."

_(Not if I can help it, Franzy…) _I slightly narrowed my eyes, somewhat disgusted by her attitude.

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**The other person**_

"_I saw her boarding the elevator, just when I came up the stairs._

_But I only saw her from behind, so I can't tell you much about her appearance." _

"Hm… This really is a short testimony." The judge confirmed.

_(Short and pretty vague…) _I bit my lip. _(I wonder if he can work with this…No. He __**has **__to be able to work with this. He has to.)_

"Mr. Edgeworth, you can start the cross-examination now."

"Yes, Your Honor."

~-Cross-Examination-~

"_I saw her boarding the elevator, just when I came up the stairs."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Mrs. Fey, if I might ask a question out of curiosity…" Edgeworth leaned forward a bit.

Misty Fey looked into his direction. "Yes?"

Despite claiming that the question was just out of curiosity, Edgeworth looked rather tense. "You keep saying that you used the stairs to ascend the building this day… But why exactly is it that you weren't using the elevator yourself, like the person you saw? Mr. Wright's apartment is on the 20th floor, after all. This is hardly a short walk."

"Well…" Misty Fey laughed a bit. "This stems from an old promise I gave to someone."

"A promise?" Edgeworth asked further.

"It isn't really important, actually." She went on. "But a few years ago, one of my daughters had a nightmare about a person dying in an elevator. She was so shocked when she woke up from this dream that she fell into my arms and, in her panic, made me promise to never use an elevator."

"Ridiculous…" Edgeworth had crossed his arms while hearing the story. He was moving his index finger up and down again and had his eyes closed. "It was just a dream! An elevator is nothing to be afraid of!"

_(Could I have that statement on tape please?) _I thought to myself, baffled by the sheer, concentrated irony in those simple two lines.

Misty Fey nodded, apparently agreeing with what Edgeworth said. "Still, I always keep the promises I make… although…" She grinned. "I think that my daughter probably doesn't remember it at all anymore. After all, I saw her using an elevator herself."

"Then you might just as well do the same." Edgeworth concluded.

"Perhaps. But I will ask her beforehand." Was the response Mrs. Fey gave, along with a warm smile.

I sighed.

_(And still no new information about our mysterious Phantom of the Hallway… The situation is getting tight…)_

"_But I only saw her from behind, so I can't tell you much about her appearance."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

Tensely, Edgeworth banged the desk with one hand and leaned forward. "But you know that the person was female?"

"She had long, dark hair and a feminine figure. " Mrs. Fey claimed. "So, yes, I am quite sure that it was a girl."

"But you don't remember anything more… specific?"

She shook her head. "No. Nothing."

"So you have no clue regarding the identity of this third person?"

"…"

As Mrs. Fey paused a moment, I felt something…

_(…Huh?...My pocket…?)_

I reached inside and felt the Magatama's warm glow between my fingers. I barely had the time to look up again, when I already heard the sound of the chains. Once my eyes were at the witness stand again, I could see something I decidedly didn't expect to see… Not now.

One Psyche Lock on Misty Fey.

Surprised, I stared at her.

_(…What? But… why her?)_

"No." She said. "No, I have no idea who she could be."

"…"´Edgeworth over in the other bench was surprisingly silent. Like something was puzzling him greatly…

"Your Honor! This cross-examination is a mere waste of time!" I heard Franziska's voice from beside me. "Dismiss the witness _now _and let us continue with the facts!"

"Hm…" After thinking it over for a second, the judge nodded. "I think I have to agree with Ms. Von Karma. If there are no objections, I'll have Mrs. Fey be dismissed now."

"Oh! Dis…missed?…" The Psyche Lock still clearly visible on her, Mrs. Fey let her head sink. She seemed worried and nervous all of a sudden… like she hadn't intended it to end here.

"Yes, Mrs. Fey." The judge stated. "I am afraid that what you tell us doesn't hold any value to the trial if there's no proof that you are telling us the truth."

"I… see…" She sighed and apologetically whispered. "So my testimony was useless in the end... I am sorry that I couldn't be a greater help…"

She bowed.

" …I apologize…"

_(No… No, she knows something!) _I stared at the red lock on her nervously. _(We can't let her leave like this... But I can't … can I?...)_

The judge sighed. "It isn't your fault Mrs. Fey. You told us all you could. You may now lea-"

_(Screw this!)_

"**OBJECTION!"**

My finger was up. "Mrs. Fey! Your last statement was a lie!"

"Huh!"

I pointed at Misty Fey right in the face. Her reaction was that she raised her head in surprise and brought her hand to her mouth.

The judge also seemed to be quite a bit dumbfounded by what I did.

"Mr. Wright… What makes you so sure?"

"Eh… Eh…"

_('A magic piece of jewelry told me, Your Honor.' Argh… Well, I can't turn back again now, I guess.)_

"I… I just don't believe Mrs. Fey when she says that she doesn't know who the person she saw was!" I exclaimed, keeping my finger at Mrs. Fey. "Even if she didn't see that person's face, I'm sure she recognized who it was! She must know! I am sure!"

*SLAP*

And then, my finger was down. In pain.

"Don't listen to this foolish fool's outburst, your Honor!" Franziska shouted. "For he knows not what he is doing! He is obviously out of his mind!"

She finished the sentence and raised her arm.

_(Uh Oh…)_

I tried to back off, but there was a hard, hard wall behind me… No escape.

*SLAP*

*SLAP*

*SLAP*

"OUAA!"

Pausing her whip-trip for a moment, Franziska furiously demanded. "I have never seen something like this before! I demand the Prosecutor for this trial to be replaced and this man to leave the bench _this instant!_ "

Then, just when I was somewhat regaining my balance again, she carried right on where she had stopped.

*SLAP*

*SLAP*

***SLAP***

_(OW!)_

If leaving the bench right now meant getting out of the reach of Franziska's whip, I don't think I would have actually minded taking the 'offer' and doing it. But a certain friend of mine didn't seem to share this opinion.

"**OBJECTION!"**

Edgeworth hit his desk. "Your Honor, I think it would be more appropriate to remove _Ms. Von Karma_ from the Prosecution's bench! She clearly crossed the borders of her function now!"

*SLAP*

"GHHH!"

Edgeworth's index finger's color now matched his clothes. Not that I found that funny or anything…

I was way too busy moaning over my own bruises to laugh about someone else's anyway.

"The 'borders of my function' are for _me _to decide, Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska downright screamed, nervously pulling her whip. "I don't care what you want me to believe, but this man _clearly _doesn't have the qualification to prosecute! He 'believes' the witness was not telling the truth? Pah! The evidence! Where is the evidence? It's a fact that the witness doesn't have anything else to say and has to be dismissed!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

"You didn't even give him the chance to explain himself, Franziska von Karma!" Edgeworth stated. "If Wright noticed a flaw in _my _witnesses' testimony, he does indeed have the right to point it out… Even if it could be to his disadvantage."

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Ah, now I see it… Now I understand what the meaning of this is… this unbelievable, ridiculous, pathetic, outrageous farce of a trial…" Franziska hissed, before she pointed at Edgeworth angrily, screaming. "YOU set this all up, didn't you?"

Edgeworth appeared unimpressed but slightly confused.

"…I beg your pardon?"

"You think you could humiliate me like this! By burdening me with this… this miserable figure here!"

"Miserable… Figure…?" I asked, half-heartedly pointing at myself.

_(And so, whatever little dignity I have left keeps shrinking and shrinking…)_

"You planned all of this! Just admit it, Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska carried on. "You are too much of a coward to face me directly, so you assign me a klutz to hinder me, so you can drag my name into shame!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

"I don't accept this kind of accusation from the likes of you '_Von Karma'_." Edgeworth put spiteful emphasis on the name. "Unlike certain other people, I have always led my trials honorably and without any ulterior motives!"

Franziska's eyes turned to slits.

"Are you trying to hint at anything, Miles Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth returned her the look.

"I see before me a young lady and just think she has come to resemble a certain man in too many ways. _This_ is what I am trying to 'hint at', Franziska von Karma!"

_(Uhh…Ladies and Gentlemen, the bell rings for round one! Place your bets!)_

I was just _waiting_ for Franziska to jump up and leap at Edgeworth. She looked like she was about to tear him into shreds. I was seriously wondering how in the world my innocent little emergency-objection had triggered this… family feud.

Franziska whipped the desk.

"Just like your father, you apparently don't know how to stay silent and know your place, Miles Edgeworth!"

Franziska had apparently managed to hit one of Edgeworth's nerves by mentioning this. He looked –and this isn't supposed to be some kind of pun – edgy.

"I would appreciate it, if you could refrain from dragging my father into _this, Ms. Von Karma_!"

"Only if you keep quiet about _mine_, _Mr. Edgeworth!_"

The courtroom was charged with static electricity and Edgeworth and Franziska were the + and the – pole respectively. It was only a matter of time until everything would discharge suddenly and explode.

Thankfully, they were stopped before it was too late.

The judge's gavel hit trice.

"Mr. Edgeworth, Ms. Von Karma, as much as I can understand the harsh feelings between the two of you, I can't tolerate this kind of discussion in my courtroom! You may sort out your personal differences after the trial. If you do not, I will have to expel both of you from the room!"

"…Ngh."

Edgeworth looked away from Franziska. "I understand, your Honor."

"Hmph."

Franziska turned to the side, now facing the door. She probably didn't want to see either of us anymore…

"In any case… Mr. Wright…"

Startled by being suddenly addressed, I looked up.

"Yes, your Honor?"

"Back to your objection from before… Why is it that you are so sure that Mrs. Fey lied regarding her recognizing the person who passed by?"

"…"

Before I could even try to grasp for a cheap excuse, I had already realized that I had long, long run out. Apparently, making an objection on basis of a Psyche Lock hadn't been a that good idea after all…

"Ehe… Well, to be honest, your Honor…" I closed my eyes to escape the angry glare of the judge. "I just… kinda… guessed?"

Closing my eyes hadn't helped either. I could _still _feel his aggravated eyes on me. It didn't feel good.

"Mr. Wright…" His voice sounded slightly irritated as well. "So in other words, you wasted our time for nothing?"

"Eh…Eheheheheh…"

"Just as I told you, Your Honor." Franziska said, still having her head turned away. "Hmph!"

"…" The judge looked greatly annoyed as his eyes wandered from Franziska back to me. "You know what this means, Mr. Wright?"

I carefully peeked at him.

"Uhm… Penalty?"

I could hear Edgeworth's dissatisfied voice from the other side of the courtroom.

"Well, there is at least one thing you apparently didn't forget."

_(Is that your way to thank me for trying to help you?)_

The judge shook his head in disbelief.

"In any case, I would now like to finally dismiss the wi-"

"**HOLD IT!"**

Simultaneously, Edgeworth, the judge, Franziska and I looked up. As we all searched the room for the source of the voice, we quickly found it in its center: The witness stand.

Misty Fey stood there, as calm as ever, her hands folded before her body.

"This won't be necessary, your Honor." She stated quickly.

The judge stared down at her and asked:

"What do you mean?"

"…"

She just smiled mysteriously and tilted her head to the side, before she finally turned it a bit… she looked at me.

"Mr. Wright…" She said. "…You can see them too… the chains, I mean. Can't you?"

"…!"

I grabbed the Magatama in my pocket.

_(She noticed…)_

"Ha Ha Ha…" She laughed warmly. "Who would have thought that you of all people would have this ability… You must have sharp senses, Mr. Wright. You should consider coming to Kurain to train. Who knows what kind of potential you might possess?"

After another smile, Misty Fey turned away from me once again.

"In any case… I should probably let go of my hesitation now…"

A little more serious, she looked up at a very, very dumbstruck and confused judge.

"Your Honor, what Mr. Wright said was not a mere guess. It is true. Despite not having seen her face… I… I think I know who the person who I saw boarding the elevator that afternoon was."

"Y-You do?"

While the judge was probably still trying to process the fact that my outburst had apparently _not _been pointless, Edgeworth had already raised his voice again and addressed Mrs. Fey.

"Witness, you are aware that lying in court is a criminal offense?"

Without showing any sign of shock, Misty Fey nodded.

"Yes, and I will immediately pay the fine once the trial is over. I apologize for the complications I probably caused... But I couldn't tell you who I believe the person I saw to be. And… to be honest… I still can't."

"Why?" Edgeworth asked.

Misty Fey closed her eyes and took a breath:

"…This other person… If her identity was to be revealed, she would be among the possible suspects, wouldn't she?"

With a nod, Edgeworth confirmed this. "It is likely that she would be."

Misty Fey listened attentively and then returned Edgeworth's nod before replying:

"As I thought. In that case… I can't tell you her name."

"Mrs. Fey!"

"I am sorry. However…

She finally opened her eyes again, looked at Edgeworth, and then at me. Then she said:

"…should you try to guess who I believe the person I saw to be, I can tell you whether your guess is correct or wrong."

_('I'll take 'suspects' for 800 then, please!'… What is this, a quiz show?)_

I quickly hit my desk and waited until Mrs. Fey looked into my direction before I exclaimed:

"Mrs. Fey! We don't have the time for this! Please, just tell us who it was!"

She, however, shook her head.

"Excuse me, but this is all I can do for you. There are certain… "rules" I have to follow."

"…"Rules"?"

"…"

She just remained silent and repeated her words from before, as if to say that she now officially considered them part of her testimony.

"_I have a suspicion regarding this person, but I can't tell you her name."_

"**HOLD IT!"**

Edgeworth didn't continue talking immediately, but stayed quiet for a few seconds and just looked at Mrs. Fey. He seemed a little tense because of what was going to happen now. This made me wonder what was on his mind.

Finally, he opened his mouth again.

" 'A Fey…" He started. " … may never endanger another Fey, no matter the circumstances.' …Dahlia once told me of this rule."

Misty Fey smiled at him. "This is correct. I see, you seem to know quite a lot about our rules and traditions."

"Mrs. Fey…" Edgeworth looked directly at his witness. "The person you saw was a woman of the Fey clan… wasn't she?"

Mrs. Fey seemed to still be in doubt, but, finally, she slowly raised her head and sunk it again. A nod.

"…!"

I hadn't expected this to happen. Alarmed, I looked over to Edgeworth. To my surprise, I found him to look somewhat… satisfied. So he had suspected it. He had suspected that the third person was a Fey right away…

_(But… Wait… A Fey?) _A thought crossed my mind. _(Weren't there the Fingerprints of a Fey woman on the doorknob to the apartment?)_

I thought a moment, trying to recall the names on the list.

"…ACK!"

I almost jumped when I realized who it was and what that meant.

_(N-No… I…Iris?)_

As quickly as I could, I banged my desk with both hands.

"Edgeworth! You don't think that it was…"

"Heh…" He looked over to me. "I see, you realized the only possible option."

"This… This makes no sense!" I shouted. "She would have had no reason to come that day! She hates me!"

Edgeworth shrugged and shook his head. "Yes, this is what the two of you keep telling everyone… But tell me, Wright, does this really correspond to the truth?"

_(Of course not…) _I thought. _(It's obvious that she still has feelings for me, but… she has a keycard. Calling her in would inevitably make her a suspect…And this goes too far!)_

"…Edgeworth… you can't…"

"Your Honor!

Before I even had a chance to finish my sentence, Edgeworth had already looked up to the judge and spoke loudly. "Based on the received information, the Defense would like to request a new witness to be called to the stand!"

"Another one?" The judge asked confused. "Again?"

With a nod Edgeworth confirmed this:

"Yes. I request…

He raised his arm and pointed at the gallery.

"Maya Fey to testify to the court!"

"…"

_(W…What?)_

Once again, the gallery had started chatting, breaking the silence in the courtroom before it could even begin.

I, however, was stunned speechless.

_(What… Maya? Why… Why her?)_

Behind me, from up in the gallery, I could hear a surprised voice shriek in fear.

It was Maya's voice. I was sure.

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

*) Suicide Note  
Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Steel Samurai Cards  
_Some trading cards I confiscated. The two sparkling cards had pictures of Maya and Iris on them. They're now in Edgeworth's possession.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 3  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Misty Fey's Testimony  
_Given to: Miles Edgeworth.  
„I was in the 20th floor of the Apartment Building around half past four on the afternoon oft he murder. I met Ms. Skye while ascending the stairs. She had nothing noticable on her and told me that her handbag was stolen. I saw other people, when I arrived in the 20th floor: A blonde girl and someone else."

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

* * *

_A huge "Thank you" to my Beta-Reader at this point. This chapter was written during a Writer's Block of mine and without Beta-Reader's excellent correction, this chap's quality would have suffered from it IMMENSELY. I mean it. _

_The chapter could still probably have been better, had it flown more easily when I wrote it. Writer's Block always seems to hit when you least need it… *sigh*_

_Further, I promise that the next chapter is the last part of Trial: Day 1. I need to get back out of the courtroom, so I can throw in some more characters. Nevertheless, the next chapter is going to feature one of my favorite events. *smile*_

_Misty Fey was harder to characterize than I thought she would be. Probably because she had, like, what, 5 sentences worth of dialogue in the game, before Capcom dropped the anvil on her. I actually had to be careful not to make her sound like Morgan. I came dangerously close to doing this a few times. I even thought about making her say "Good Sir". Seriously. _

_As for me, I am officially an University Student of the 'Japan Studies' Faculty Vienna now. Today was my first day. I guess that I'll have less time to spare from now on… After all, the Kanji don't embed themselves in my mind on their own, do they? Neither do lectures on Japanese Society, by the way._

_Well, I guess all I can do is try to give it my all.  
_


	15. Something Cute

Maya Fey in the witness stand… Quite a familiar sight, actually, come to think of it.

She had been my client twice, after all. And unwittingly taken place there a third time when Dahlia had just abused her body to commit perjury in Iris' name.

Nervously she stepped up to the stand. She was still walking when she suddenly started adjusting her ribbon, pulling the edges of her dress up, brushing her hair down, getting rid of every wrinkle in her clothes she caught sight of…

At first I didn't understand why she did this, but one look through the room made me realize the reason: Everyone was looking at her. Not in the same way the witnesses were usually being looked upon… Of course not.

'This' Maya was a celebrity. Every one of her actions, every one of her moves, every last breath she made aroused public attention. She was walking, talking journalist bait. The fact alone that she was testifying now would probably be all over the boulevard papers tomorrow. It would probably be a disaster if anything questionable happened during her testimony, no matter how small.

Trying to imagine how much pressure there had to be on her shoulders right now, I started to feel sorry for her. Still, this only caused my curiosity about why exactly Edgeworth had called her in to increase. Edgeworth never acted without planning beforehand. He always had a good reason for everything he did. So there was something we could win off Maya's testimony… I just didn't understand what yet.

Maya wouldn't have visited me. Not the way she was now. Also, she wouldn't have had a reason to meet Ema or Lana. There was absolutely nothing that could have caused her to come to this building.

So… why was he so sure that the person Mrs. Fey saw was her?

He hadn't even asked Mrs. Fey if it was specifically Maya whom she saw. He just accepted the answer "A Fey" and moved on to requesting to cross-examine Maya.

I had agreed because I knew that everything else we could have done now was either a dead end or… Iris.

I didn't want to bring up her name. I really didn't. It was bad enough that Maya was caught up in this now, but at least she had an alibi in having been absolutely unable to open the apartment door and thus wouldn't end up as a new candidate for the killer. She had no Keycard after all. Iris, however, would have immediately been the new prime suspect, should the possibility that she was anywhere near the crime scene during the time of the murder have come up.

It would have been even quite easy to construct a motive for her… For example, one could assume that Iris blamed the Skye sisters for being responsible of how 'my' personality developed and thus wanted to take revenge for me.

…Still, no matter how plausible this may have appeared to someone who didn't know her, there was absolutely no reason to suspect Iris. She was an overly forgiving person. She probably didn't even know how to spell "revenge", not to mention how to carry it out.

Maya was right at the witness stand. Her eyes were on the floor, so it wasn't hard to tell that she was a little bit scared. Probably because she had no idea why she had been called to the stand. Well, that made two of us…

"Ehm…"

_(The least I can do now is try to go easy on her...)_

"…Maya, we need you to state your name and occupation, please." I told her carefully.

"…"

Her head was lowered so far now that her fringe was covering her eyes, so I couldn't tell what they looked like, but it was still very obvious that she wasn't sure what to do now.

_(Poor Maya… ) _I thought (_She has no reason to stand here. I probably shouldn't have agreed to call her up…)_

"I…"

This was the first word we heard from her. I raised an eyebrow and looked over at the stand. A few seconds of silence followed. Maya took a few deep breaths, before she finally continued.

In the end, she quickly lifted her head and revealed… a smile.

And I don't mean a half-hearted smile. I mean sunshine-bright, cheery smile.

"You asked for my name? Alright!

As dynamically as humanly possible, she posed in the stand putting her right hand close to her forehead in a weirdly-cheerful kind of salute – A pose I recognized as ripped-off from an episode of the Pink Princess – and declared in a melodic voice:

"I am _MAYOI_, the _dreamful voice of the night's first star_! _Sweet and hot, let me move your soul_!"

I backed off, surprised.

_(Commercial much?)_

The loud sound of at least fifty people up in the gallery squealing _'MA~YO~-CHA~N!' _echoed through the room with the volume rivaling that of the rock music, which I heard the day before.

Maya seemed to have decided to just avoid any kind of problems with the press by playing out the "Perky Pop Idol" card, like her fans expected her to. I knew this because – and I really can't completely explain how, since her smile looked impressively genuine – I saw that she was just faking it. Maybe I felt it because I had been working alongside her for so long that I had learned to actually distinguish between when she meant something or was just pretending. Or it was some kind of side effect of the Magatama. Or I was just guessing it, without even realizing. Wouldn't be too surprising, seeing as how we are talking about _me_.

In any case, Maya had now started greeting her fans up in the gallery by waving at them, while jumping up and down in the witness stand. And, before I knew it, a flower fell down to her and she caught it and bowed thankfully. I don't know why anyone would bring _flowers _to a trial. Actually, I don't want to know.

Everyone in the room seemed to be excited and charmed by having the opportunity to see 'MAYOI' live and for free.

Except for… the judge.

"Uhm…"

I guess trying to imagine his facial expression shouldn't be too hard.

"…What is going on here? …Witness?...

Maya didn't react since she was busy answering her fans greetings with bows and laughs.

The judge went then on to addressing his question to someone else instead:

"…Mr. Edgeworth? ...Your witness?"

"I think you will have to forgive the witness' and audience's behavior just this once, Your Honor." Edgeworth explained shrugging and sighing. There was a slight smile on his lips. "After all, it is not every day that a celebrity like her openly appears in public."

"…Celebrity?" The judge asked. "This girl?"

_(Welcome to my world, Your Honor…)_

"Your Honor…" I looked up to him and tried to explain. "…this is Maya Fey, the daughter of the previous witness. She's a… famous singer."

"A singer?" He repeated after me, before turning to Maya again. "So… what do you sing, witness?"

Like on cue, Maya turned her attention to the judge:

"Oh! All kinds of songs! Pop, Rock, Ballades… Do you want me to sing one for you, Your Honor?"

Maya blinked a few times up to the judge in a sugary sweet way, causing him to be visibly startled.

"Oh… Well… There was this one song I loved when I was still a young boy… back in nineteen-"

*SLAP*

"UHF!"

*SLAP*

"OW OW OW!"

Both Maya and the judge jumped in shock, as Franziska's whip hit and she exclaimed:

"Your Honor, the only thing we want this witness to 'sing' is her testimony! Understood?"

"Y-Yes… Yes, of course, Ms. Von Karma…Uhm…"

_(I clearly heard him mumbling 'please don't hurt me' there…) _I thought and sighed.

"Hey…Ow…" Maya stood in the stand with wet eyes, rubbing her arm. "She whipped me… in court. That hurt. Is nobody going to do something about that? Anyone…?"

*SLAP*

"KYA!"

Franziska opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly silenced by the angry mob above our heads:

'_BOOOOOO!' _´The crowd went.

"W-What?" A highly irritated Franziska von Karma let her eyes wander all around the room in shock. Apparently she had never gotten that reaction before. "What is going on here? What is this uproar…?"

"I guess they are not OK with how you treat Maya. Look." I pointed at the witness stand. "You made her cry."

Maya was, indeed, standing there sniffling and whimpering teary eyed, but I knew that this was nothing serious. There was a difference between Maya crying because she was slightly upset and Maya crying because she was genuinely sad. This was obviously the former case. Not that Franziska needed to know that.

Meanwhile, the complaints from up in the gallery got louder and louder:

"_Who let that girl down there into the room? What a psychopath!"_

"_Mommy, is the woman with the blue hair an evil witch?"_

"_Don't get close to that person darling! God knows what she'll do!"_

"_European punk! Go back to where you came from!"_

And from those sentences came _many_ more.

"Quiet! QUIET!" Franziska shouted up to the people in the gallery. "Quiet I say! Or… or…"

"Or you will whip them one by one?" I suggested.

And… she turned back towards me.

*SLAP*

*SLAP*

*SLAP*

Sleeping was going to be a torture tonight. Seriously. There wasn't a single spot on my body that wasn't bruised.

The judge finally decided to return the courtroom back to a calmer state.

"Order!"

He had to swing the gavel quite a few times before it was finally quiet again.

"We can't possibly work like this. Mr. Wright, please keep your Co-Council under control, or I will have to penalize you. Again."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

_(What? But she's the one who… I didn't… I can't… ARGH! It's a conspiracy! Everybody is trying to get me!)_

"…and if anymore outbursts happen after this, I fear I will have to expel you from the room!"

"…"

I had no reply to this.

"So…" Franziska grinned. A thought that she liked seemed to have crossed her mind.

"That means if you 'fail' to keep me in check…" – And she stressed 'fail' in a pretty suspicious way. "…you will be excluded from the trial?"

She eagerly played around with her whip, as if she was just waiting for the cue to abuse it again.

"No." I answered, finally having found something I could counter her with. "This means if you keep randomly whipping people without a good reason, the judge will throw _both_ of us out and probably declare the Defendant 'Not Guilty' by default."

And now it was my turn to grin, as I watched Franziska's own grin collapse on itself.

"…!"

Alarmed, she put her whip down, but at the same time started glaring as me in a disgusted way. Not that this would have impressed me. I knew that she wouldn't risk causing us to lose and getting a mark on her perfect record.

_(Whew… Looks like I'm safe for a little while. I hope that this is going to last…)_

"Eh… Your Honor?" Maya looked up to the judge, trying to get him to listen to her again. It worked and he turned towards her.

"Yes, witness?"

"You see… Actually, I don't really know what I'm doing here at all." She said. "I mean, I only came here to watch Miles defend that woman. But, you know, I never really met her before. And I have never seen her sister, so I have no idea what I should testify about. If I think about it, I don't even know where exactly the crime scene was. So…"

She folded her hands and smiled up at the judge.

"Can I go back to my seat?"

"…Hm…" The judge turned his head to the right. "Mr. Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth looked up to the judge: "Yes, Your Honor?"

"Why did you request this girl to testify again?" He asked puzzled. "Excuse me, but she doesn't seem to have any relation to this case…Does she even qualify as a 'witness'?"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Maya said. "If you ask me, I probably make the most useless witness in the world… But I can sing! Do you want me to sing, your Honor?"

Maya looked very eager to fulfill this offer. And the judge looked very eager to take it…

"Hm…"

Edgeworth, however, appeared indifferent to everything Maya had just said. He shook his head and told her:

"I know that this is a little sudden, Maya, but I'm afraid you will have to stay where you are for a short while. It is important that you tell us what exactly you were doing yesterday between 16:00 and 17:00."

Maya seemed a little tense and put her hand up to her mouth:

"16:00 and 17:00… the time of the murder…"

A little reluctantly, but driven by curiosity, I turned to the right, facing Franziska.

"I'm afraid to ask…" I started mumbling. "…but… do you have any idea where Edgeworth is going with this?"

"Not exactly..." She replied, her eyes at Maya. "But I am quite sure that Miles Edgeworth has been waiting to call up this witness for a long time now."

"Huh? How come?"

"Recall the last two cross-examinations, Phoenix Wright." She told me. "I only realized this myself not too long ago… But now I am convinced that he was just searching for reasons to call Maya Fey to the stand during both of those testimonies."

"So…he had planned to question Maya? The whole time?"

"This is what I think." She nodded. "Even though I am not certain what exactly he is hoping to gain by doing so… Stay on guard, Phoenix Wright. I warn you."

_(Strange…) _I thought. _(If Edgeworth thought that Maya knows something regarding this case, why didn't he confront her about it during the recess?)_

Maya still didn't seem too happy about her current position. She looked at Edgeworth with the eyes of a kid who forgot to hand in their homework on time.

"But…! Miles… I don't know anything!"

Edgeworth shook his head. "Just testify, Maya. The truth will come out all by itself then."

"…"

Maya was still hesitating. The next thing that happened was that she turned her head into my direction… just slightly, but still enough for me to catch a glimpse of her eyes. Within a few seconds, they went from troubled to determined:

"…Alright!" She said. "I have no idea how this is gonna help... but I'll tell you what I did yesterday afternoon!"

~-Witness Testimony-~

_**Yesterday afternoon**_

"_So… between 16:00 and 17:00? Well, I was on my way to Sunshine Coliseum then!_

_Some people probably already know, but I gave a concert there last night. It was awesome!_

_Really, I wish I could help more, but I have no idea who killed that poor girl…_

_I really went nowhere near that Apartment Building. I wouldn't even have had a reason to!"_

And there was the sound of the chains again.

I didn't even need to look at her to know that the three Psyche Locks were back.

_(Maya…)_

I got tense. So Edgeworth was right… She knew something and she was hiding it… Maybe the Psyche Locks that I saw on her now were even somehow connected to the ones that I saw the day before?

The judge still seemed to have certain doubts regarding the usefulness of Maya's testimony. He addressed Edgeworth.

"I… assume the Defense wants to cross-examine the witness?"

"Of course, Your Honor." Edgeworth confirmed.

"Tsk..." Franziska shook her head in disbelief. "What a waste of time… There is nothing you could possibly win off this kind of testimony, Miles Edgeworth."

"But just five minutes ago, he gained pretty crucial information from a testimony with two statements." I reminded her.

"Nothing but dumb luck." She replied, clutching her sleeves and closing her eyes. "This kind of 'tactic' never works more than once in a row."

_(I keep forgetting that she has no idea what my trials usually progress like…)_

~-Cross-Examination-~

"_So… between 16:00 and 17:00? Well, I was on my way to Sunshine Coliseum then!"_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"What means of transport did you use to get there?" Edgeworth asked.

Maya smiled. "Well, I was walking, of course! The Coliseum isn't too far from Mom's flat… I went there to change, you know."

Edgeworth continued his line of questioning.

"Walking… Why didn't you ask you mother to drive you?"

Maya bit her lip a little nervously. "Mom wasn't at home… I guess she really went to see Mr. Wright, like she said…"

Her head had slowly lowered as she had said this sentence, but all of a sudden, she raised it again. "But I wasn't there! I swear!"

"Regarding your stay in your Mother's flat… Why did you change clothing there? There are dressing rooms at Sunshine Coliseum."

"Oh… I didn't change into my stage clothing!" Maya replied. "I dressed in plain clothing and changed my hairstyle so people wouldn't recognize me on the way down to the coliseum."

"In order to escape fans, I assume?" Edgeworth asked.

Maya became a little more subdued.

"Actually… more to make sure that I didn't accidently catch the attention of the wrong kind of people…"

"The wrong kind of people?"

"…You know… shady guys. Robbers… kidnappers… this kind of people…"

Maya shivered when she told Edgeworth of this. It wasn't hard to tell that she was terrified by the thought of ending up facing this kind of person.

"…I don't even trust cab drivers, you know." She went on to tell Edgeworth. "My sis once told me about some statistics about taxis and crimes… I haven't used a taxi ever since…"

_(I don't remember Maya being __**that**__ afraid of facing a criminal…) _I realized. _(Did something happen…?)_

"_Some people probably already know, but I gave a concert there last night. It was awesome!"_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"About this concert…" Edgeworth started, but before he could get even further, Maya had already interrupted him.

"Oh, yeah, you were there too, weren't you? I didn't even ask you how you liked it yet! Did you have fun?"

Edgeworth shrugged. "Excuse me, Maya, but I'm afraid I had no time to go and see the concert. I was busy investigating on the crime scene."

"Oh… So that's why you didn't visit in the break…" Maya seemed a little disappointed. "That's too bad… I wanted you to try a burger too. The Gavinners' chef is awesome!"

"I personally prefer sandwiches, but thank you." Was Edgeworth's response to this. "In any case… I had a talk with Prosecutor Gavin this morning and he told me something quite curious…"

His eyes narrowed a little.

"Maya... you arrived a little too late at the concert, didn't you?"

"Huh?" Surprised, Maya backed off a little. "W-What do you mean?"

"The original plan for the concert was that it would be arranged in four blocks, 2 A-blocks with MAYOI-songs and 2 B-blocks with Gavinners-songs, alternating. The intended order of those blocks was A-B-A-B, of course. However, your delayed arrival forced the band to rearrange the order of the blocks to B-B-A-A."

"Well, actually, I wanted it to be A-B-B-A, but Mr. Gavin said they wouldn't play the two middle blocks, because-"

"Maya, this isn't my point." Edgeworth cut her short. "I want to know what you did before you arrived at the Coliseum. The reason for you being late."

"…"

I saw Maya biting her lip, which surprised me a lot.

_(He is on to something…) _I thought. _(Maya… Maya what were you doing between 16:00 and 17:00… You weren't really the one your Mother saw in that elevator… were you?)_

I felt even more nervous. My hands were already pretty sweaty.

_(And if it was you… why? What were you doing there?)_

"Eh…Eh…" Maya was still trying to find the right words to say. Finally, she raised her head.

"Burgers!"

Edgeworth seemed slightly confused. "The reason for you delay was… burgers?"

"Y-Yes!" Maya tried to defend this statement with all her might. "You know Miles, when I woke up after my nap, I was so hungry like you wouldn't believe! But I couldn't eat anything during that meeting I had and… when I got to Mom's flat, her fridge was all empty! It was terrible! A catastrophe!"

"…Yes, a truly shocking situation."

Edgeworth's face didn't match his words in the slightest.

"So, once I finished changing, I stormed towards the nearest fast food place to fill that big black hole in my stomach."

_('Black Hole'… surprisingly fitting description…)_

"…but there was a huge line before the counter, so I had to wait a while until I actually got something."

"And you missed an hour of the concert doing so." Edgeworth concluded… But his voice made it obvious that he didn't really buy it.

Maya bowed shamefully. "I'm sorry… I can't help it when I'm hungry…Really…"

"That reminds me…" The judge started. He took a look at his wrist, where he apparently had a watch. "It is almost 13:00… I'm afraid my lunch will be quite late today if we don't make haste."

_(We had a thirty minutes break where you could have helped yourself to something, Your Honor…) _Were my thoughts, which I decided not to voice.

"So, witness, please continue your testimony."

"But… I really don't know what else to tell you…" Maya said and she sounded quite upset as she did so.

"_Really, I wish I could help more, but I have no idea who killed that poor girl…"_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"I never claimed that you knew any more about the killer's identity than everyone else here…" Edgeworth told her. "All I need you to tell me, Maya, is the truth about what you did that day."

"Miles… I'm saying the truth!" Maya stated with both of her hands balled to fists, determined to leave her testimony unchanged. "I'm telling you!"

"_I really went nowhere near that Apartment Building. I wouldn't even have had a reason to go there!"_

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Maya…" Edgeworth seemed to be searching for the right words to say what he was trying to tell her "I am not quite sure if I can believe this."

"Huh?" Apparently not understanding what he meant, Maya blinked a few times, until Edgeworth continued.

"I think you would have a wide variety of possible reasons to visit this building. For example, I think it has been well established by now that the crime scene was Mr. Wright's Apartment. We also know that your sister, whom you are very close to, owes her incarceration to this man. Ergo, just like your Mother, you would have had a very good reason to pay Mr. Wright a visit in order to gain clarity."

"H-Hey! Hold it!" Maya exclaimed. "My spiritual powers are much weaker than my Mother's, so I felt absolutely nothing special during that other trial! And even if I did, I would have never… NEVER gone anywhere close to that guy just because of this!"

"Not even to question him regarding his actions?" Edgeworth asked.

"No, not even for this!" Maya shook her head wildly. "I don't want to have anything to do with him! Nothing! I mean… he's low! Lower than low! The bottom of the bottom! He isn't even worth the anger!"

_(Then save it…) _I thought, staring at Maya's tomato-red face, which kind of fascinated me. _(You look like you were gonna explode any second.)_

The judge looked a little shocked by Maya's sudden outburst: "Ehm… Witness… Mr. Wright is right here and hearing every word."

"_Good!_"

"…"

After an annoyed grunt, Maya let her eyes of the judge turned towards Edgeworth again:

"In any case…

"_Why should I go all the way to that building and then up to Apartment No. 98, just to meet that douche!"_

"**OBJECTION!"**

"…Maya."

"…Y-Yes?" Maya shivered a little. "Eh… I don't like the way you're looking at me, Miles…"

Edgeworth had a glare in his eyes that made it apparent that he was about to say something important. He picked up a few sheets of paper from his desk and raised his voice.

"Those are my personal notes for this trial… I jotted down as much as I could regarding any information the witnesses up till now have given us, just to make sure that I miss nothing crucial."

"Y-Yeah… so…?"

Maya looked nervous. And I had a feeling I knew why.

_(She just said something…) _I realized. _(Something she shouldn't have known…)_

"Ever since this trial started,…" Edgeworth continued. "…although the 20th floor has been mentioned numerous times, nobody has mentioned the number of Wright's Apartment yet. Not even _once._"

"…! …Eh…"

Maya backed off.

"No. 98… This is indeed Mr. Wright's address." Edgeworth confirmed. "So, tell me, Maya… if you have never visited him before…how did you know this?"

"…AH!"

With this, Maya stumbled back from the witness stand a few inches in shock, before somewhat regaining her balance. Then she started fighting back:

"I… I heard it!" She claimed. "Yes, somebody mentioned it to me!"

Edgeworth hit his desk:

"Nobody mentioned it during the trial! You couldn't have heard it from anyone!"

_(Well, actually…)_

A thought came to me that ripped a big hole in Edgeworth's reasoning.

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Actually, she could have heard it, Edgeworth." I told him.

Edgeworth let his eyes of Maya and looked at me instead.

"And where from do you suppose she heard it?"

"From Iris." I told him. "We left the two of them alone during the recess, remember? What if they spoke about the trial and she dropped the number during that talk?"

"Y-Yeah!" Maya nodded. "That's probably where I heard the number! I… I really didn't know until the recess! Please, you have to believe me!"

Edgeworth shook his head.

"Excuse me, Maya, but this sounds like nothing more than a hastily conjured excuse to me!"

"M-Miles…"

"Edgeworth!"

I banged the desk with both hands.

"Come on! Why don't you tell us all where you're trying to go, instead of asking Maya questions that she can't answer! We both know that she wouldn't have had a reason to go anywhere near me! You remember the incident with the Baseball Bat yesterday, don't you?"

The judge looked dumbstruck.

"B-Baseball Bat?"

I carried on regardless.

"Or do you think that Maya came all the way to my house just to give me another beating?"

Once again, Edgeworth shook his head and remained calm.

"No. Maya Fey is not the kind of person who relies on revenge to deal with her feelings. What she did yesterday morning was merely an impulse and nothing she would do without sudden provocation. However…" He put one of his hands down on the desk. "I am still convinced that she approached the crime scene on the day of the crime! And I have a reason to think this way!"

"A reason?"

"…"

Edgeworth looked a little hesitant. Like he wasn't sure if he should do what he was planning to do now. I saw how he glimpsed over to Maya a few times before finally picking up yet another item from his desk… This time, it was an envelope…

A pink envelope.

_(What… What the hell is __**this**__?)_

"Here, Wright!" Edgeworth raised his hand with the Envelope and presented it to me…

The moment he did, Maya turned pale as chalk: "Huh?"

Up to this point, she had nervously played with her fingers the whole time… Now she froze on the spot.

"Edgeworth… What's that supposed to be…?" I asked, sweating. I took a look at both, frozen solid Maya and Edgeworth with the pink letter, and finally gulped.

_(I have a bad feeling about this…)_

"Mr. Edgeworth…" The judge seemed, once again, confused and even slightly disturbed. "Excuse me, but you can exchange letters with Mr. Wright after the trial… Although I think you should probably reconsider the choice of color regarding the envelope… People might think that you and Mr. Wright are… well…"

Edgeworth sighed and shook his head.

"Your Honor, I assure you that all of my letters are, in fact, wrapped in normal, white envelopes and that this specific one was certainly not written by me. This is a piece of evidence, you see."

"Evidence?" The judge asked surprised. "This cute, little envelope?"

"Yes…"

Edgeworth turned his head around. He looked over to me, right into my eyes.

"This letter was found at the crime scene, Wright…" He told me. "It was stuck under the door. I presume that someone slid the envelope into the room from underneath it and that it got caught up there when we entered the apartment later. This is why we didn't notice it right away."

_(What… is he trying to do?) _I wondered. _(That's just an envelope… But why do I have this strange feeling about it then…?...Ah… Anyway…)_

"**OBJECTION!"**

"That letter could have gotten there days ago, Edgeworth." I pointed out to him "Maybe I just forgot to pick it up."

"No, Wright. Not even you are capable of missing an envelope of this color for this long!"

_(True… It is shock-pink…) _I thought to myself, realizing that he was right… _(…Who in their mind sends a letter in a shock-pink envelope? Some kind of fangirl, maybe?)_

Then again, the thought of _me _having fangirls was just so incredibly off that I discarded it right away.

_(Hm… Maya looks really nervous) _I noticed, as I watched her staring at Edgeworth with the pink letter. _(I wonder why… Is there something wrong with this letter… Wait… Could it be that she…)_

Edgeworth went on explaining.

"However, the true quality of interest regarding this letter isn't the time this letter arrived at your apartment… but its sender."

I listened up.

"The sender?"

I had a feeling I knew where this was going…

"The name of the sender was, sadly not given on the envelope." Edgeworth told me. "Also, I didn't open the letter, seeing as how I respect the secrecy of correspondence…"

"Secrecy of Correspondence?" I asked, turning towards Franziska with an question mark on my face.

"A letter must only be opened and read by the intended receiver." She explained.

I saw her playing around with her whip under her desk… she was nervous. Not a good sign…

_(No way… That letter…) _My eyes were on Maya, who was looking like she wanted to hide. Just hide somewhere. _(The way she's behaving… That means that she saw that letter before. It was Maya… Maya sent it!)_

Just a second later, Edgeworth said almost exactly the same thing aloud to the court, for everyone to hear:

"Still, I think that it is safe to assume that this letter was, in fact, written and delivered by our witness… Maya Fey!"

He had barely finished the sentence, when Maya was ready to start to fight off the suspicion.

"N-No!" She shouted. "That… That's not mine! I've never seen that letter before! I swear!"

"I am sorry, Maya, but I can't believe this. There is too much evidence against it." Edgeworth explained.

"B-But…"

He continued with the letter.

"I didn't have the time yet to let the handwriting on the envelope be analyzed… yet, it looks suspiciously similar to yours… Further, the name written on the envelope is quite interesting as well… It reads _"To Nick"._"

"…!"

I sharpened my ears, just to make sure I didn't mishear something just now.

Meanwhile, Maya started shaking her head wildly: "N-No…!"

"'Nick'?" The judge asked confused. "But I thought the letter was sent to Mr. Wright! Who is this 'Nick' we are talking about now?"

"Eh…" I timidly raised my hand, "That'd be me…"

"But isn't your first name- …Oh…!" The judge closed his eyes and thought a moment. "… Phoenix… Fee-Nick-S… I see!"

Edgeworth nodded.

"Yes, Your Honor. It is a nickname only Mr. Wright's closest friends have used for him ever since his childhood. As you can see, it's only loosely derived from his actual name and requires some imagination to be understood. I, myself, only know about it because I have known him ever since our schooldays."

"Oho! I didn't know the two of you went back such a long way…"

_(And Maya was one of the few people who actually used that name for me…) _I realized. _(But… That still leaves the question…)_

I hit my desk. "But how does the nickname on the letter connect it to Maya, Edgeworth? Where do you think she could have possibly picked up that name? And why would she use it?"

_(That last question… Please answer it.) _I hoped. _(Please tell me Edgeworth. I beg of you…)_

But, to my disappointment, Edgeworth shrugged and shook his head.

"I am afraid that I don't know this yet… However… I know that she knew of the nickname."

"N-No, I didn't!" Maya shouted. "I never heard of that nickname before! I swear!"

_(Sorry Maya, but I already know that this isn't true… And Edgeworth probably knows as well.)_

This suspicion of mine was about to be confirmed.

"Maya… You do remember the short nap you took in my office yesterday?" Edgeworth asked. "Well… You were sleep talking."

Maya twitched.

"S-Sleep talking…?"

"Of course, most of what you said was barely understandable… But one sentence repeated several times. …_'Please answer me, Nick'._"

"HUH?"

Clapping both of her hands over her mouth, Maya stepped back in shock.

"…She said this in her sleep? 'Nick'?" The judge starred down at her. "But why would the witness know of this nickname?"

"I didn't!" Maya kept claiming. "My dream… That was a different Nick! Someone else! That has nothing to do with Mr. Wright!"

"Of course, I took the possibility of the name being merely a coincidence in account. But I soon came to the conclusion that this was not the case. Among a long line of other hints, I managed to engage in a few dialogues about you, Maya, with Mr. Wright. In every single instance he was… surprisingly knowledgeable…"

Maya's eyes turned wide. She turned her head towards me.

"N-NICK?"

I didn't respond. I was busy being shocked myself. After all, it was only now that I realized the reason… The true reason that Edgeworth hadn't been acting hostile towards me the past two days.

_(He… He's been examining me!) _I realized. _(Every single time we talked… Every time I spoke to him… He only led those dialogues with me because he wanted to know how much I actually knew about Maya! Argh…)_

As quickly as I could, I stretched out my arm and yelled.

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Edgeworth, what I told you doesn't count!" I shouted. "What I remember doesn't match up with the facts! Maya was never my-"

Not allowing me to finish the sentence, Edgeworth banged the desk.

"Excuse me, Wright, but I don't believe in 'miraculously changing memories'. It is much more likely that Maya Fey and you actually had a stronger connection than everyone assumed and that this memory happened to survive despite whatever caused your confusion."

"C-Confusion?" Maya was still looking at me. "What is he talking about? N-Ni…."

"Maya…"

I couldn't help but feel guilty. She looked so miserable… So horribly miserable. And I was partly to blame. Just because I had tried to tell Edgeworth about what happened to me… This was a big part of the reason she was standing here now. He would never have suspected her of having written the letter had I not told him so much about her…

Meanwhile, the judge had failed to keep up with everything that was going on in the courtroom, as usual.

"Mr. Edgeworth! What are you trying to tell us?"

Edgeworth looked up to him.

"Your Honor… The witness not only apparently wrote a letter to this man, who she claims to hate, she also used a nickname, which suggests the letter to be of very informal nature, a style of writing one wouldn't use when addressing a complete stranger. I am thus led to believe that Mr. Wright and Ms. Fey are closer to each other than we all think…"

"N-No! Please, Miles…!" Maya pleaded. Her eyes were wet and the first tears had already dropped down her cheek. "Stop… Please…"

"I believe them to have… a kind of relationship…"

And barely had he mentioned the word 'Relationship', the chatting up in the gallery was impossible to stop any longer. Whispering and chatting came from the ranks started and turned into loud rambling and outraged shouting in a matter of seconds.

I quickly took a look around. First I noticed that poor Maya was now looking like a scared, little mouse facing a fierce cat. Next I noticed that everyone was staring at Maya and me. And only the two of us.

_(ARGH! NO! Please don't tell me that they're __**all**__ drawing the same conclusion!)_

However, everyone was doing exactly this. Everyone. Even the judge.

"So, Mr. Edgeworth, you think that Mr. Wright… And Ms. Fey here are… in fact… _a couple_?"

"No!" Maya cried shocked. "No, y-you don't understand! S-Stop… Stop!"

Edgeworth ignored Maya and replied. "I can't and shouldn't make any assumptions regarding the nature of the relationship based on the evidence I have."

_(But the envelope is pink, Edgeworth. FREAKIN'. PINK.) _I buried my hands in my hair. _(Why did it have to be PINK, Maya? Why?)_

"However… I am sure that all of Maya Fey's hatred towards Mr. Wright was merely faked."

_(Maya…) _I thought. _(Is that what you were talking about yesterday and in the recess just now? You_ _…You and 'me' weren't really… Were we?)_

Edgeworth banged on the desk again. "Admit it, Maya! You were the person your Mother saw in the elevator on the day of the murder! You were there in order to deliver the letter to Mr. Wright!"

"N-No!" She kept denying it loudly. "I don't know about this letter! I didn't write it! Stop! Please, stop, Miles!"

_(He won't stop…) _I bit my lip. _(Edgeworth once said that the truth will be revealed no matter how painful it may be. I still remember Adrian Andrews… It was exactly the same with her. He will do anything to get Maya to admit that she was there yesterday. Anything.)_

And the people up in the gallery kept chatting:

"_M-MAYOI and that… that spiky guy?"_

"_No way!"_

"_He's so much older than her! That's creepy!"_

"_But I heard she has refused every proposal she got for years… Maybe that's the reason!"_

"…_But the Prosecutor had a girlfriend! I read it in the news!"_

"_Does that mean they had an affair?"_

"_And even though that guy did this to her sister!"_

"_I-I never thought MAYOI would…"_

The assumptions were getting worse and worse…

That was when I realized it: This could be Maya's end... The end of her image as an innocent, bubbly teen idol. If it came out that she was actually the author of this letter…

Tonight, this would be all over the internet. Tomorrow morning, this would be the headline of the newspapers. And tomorrow night, it would be on TV.

And by the day after tomorrow, her image would be ruined.

Yet, Edgeworth didn't stop.

"There is no use denying it, Maya! We will analyze the handwriting!"

I couldn't just sit there and watch him go on like this:

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Edgeworth, there are two words on the envelopes, both in caps!" I told him, hoping to get Maya out of the heat this way. "That's not enough for an analysis!"

"Y-Yeah!" Maya shouted. "It won't work… So… Don't even try!"

"…In that case, I will ask the court for the permission to open the letter."

"What….?"

"This way, we can analyze the handwriting, and read the letter's contents. It would clear all open questions regarding it… The sender, its nature and probably even the date it was written. Of course, this is only necessary if you keep refusing to reveal what you actually did on the afternoon of the murder."

When Maya heard this, her knees started shaking… until she almost fell down. The only thing keeping her from collapsing in the stand were her hands, with which she pressed against the rail to keep herself up.

And she turned towards me… looked at me in a pleading way:

"…Help…" She whimpered, barely audible through the noise in the courtroom. "…Help me… Nick…"

"Maya…"

_(Edgeworth has gone too far… Way, way, way too far…)_

My left hand shook. What I was about to do… I never thought that I would ever do this to another attorney…

But I had to do it. In fact, I should have done it much, much sooner. Not now that it was almost too late… My hesitation had caused Maya enough trouble already. This had to end.

I stretched out my hand and yelled.

"**OBJECTION!"**

"Edgeworth… Stop badgering the witness_… THIS INSTANT_!"

I had shouted from the top of my lungs so loudly I had been louder than the entire crowd in the courtroom and Maya's crying combined. And with this, it was silent.

It stayed that way for a few seconds... Long enough for me to take a few, much needed deep breaths.

Maya was staring at me. I don't know if she was surprised, shocked, or moved. I have no idea, really. All I knew was that she was staring at me.

And that Edgeworth, after a short break… smirked.

In a way that said '_Well done'_.

I didn't understand it… So I gave him a puzzled look. Edgeworth just turned his head away and towards the judge.

"As you see, Your Honor…" He started. "This case is much more complicated than the first investigations have proven. Not only are there several hints towards the possibility that the crime scene was set up in order to frame Lana Skye of the crime, but the testimony of the Prosecution's witness is also of questionable quality, seeing as how there is a high chance that two other people, whom she would definitely have noticed, approached the crime scene not too long before the murder. As for now, it is impossible to tell what actually happened on the afternoon of the first of May in the Apartment of Mr. Wright. But I think it is safe to say that further research and investigation is required in order to uncover the truth behind those events. I request the court to grant me one more day in order to look further into the matter."

"Hm…" The judge appeared to be over thinking what Edgeworth had just said. Finally, he nodded.

"I agree with the Defense. Giving a verdict at this point would be a naïve, hasty act. What we found out does indeed cast some doubt on the Prosecution's case… What did Ms. Heatherd actually observe that day? Was Lana Skye really lacking her handbag when she entered the building? There are too many questions unanswered. I expect both the Defense and the Prosecution to conduct additional research and look further into this matter."

I looked up to him and nodded.

"Yes, your Honor."

Edgeworth did the same.

"Thank you."

I took a look to the right in order to see what Franziska was doing. I found her standing there with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, her face indicating that she was trying hard to hide her anger. I decided that I should probably attempt to avoid her as soon as I left the room…

The judge's voice echoed through the room.

"Court is now adjourned."

The judge slammed his gavel, and the trial's first day ended.

**May 2nd, 1:16pm  
District Court  
Courtroom No.2**

"This is a disaster!"

No, I hadn't managed to escape Franziska. She didn't even give me the chance to.

As soon as I had left the bench, she caught me by my sleeve – I guess I should be thankful that it wasn't my ear – and pulled me outside to lecture me. Just two meters to our left the people from the gallery were noisily leaving the courtroom, yet I could hear the young woman before me loud and clearly. Mostly because she was screaming so deafeningly that a few people even stopped and stared at us. A mother was just dragging her little child away from the two of us when Franziska went on:

"I have never seen such a horribly ill-prepared mess of a Prosecution before! You should sink into the floor out of shame right where you stand, you foolish…"

_(Oh boy…Here she goes with the 'fool's again…)_

I'll spare you the rest of her speech, but it all came down to one point:

Her majesty, Franziska Von Karma, Queen of the Kingdom of Uncreative Insults, was not pleased.

"…and a disgrace to all of the world's law-enforcement!

_(Are you done yet?)_

"You fool!"

_(Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about that part.)_

It was a miracle that Franziska's whip was still idly resting in her hand and that she was limiting herself to verbal abuse now. Maybe she had grown tired of whipping me?

…Hey, I can dream, right?

Franziska now went on to glaring at me. Just glaring. It was quite creepy, to be honest. She kept doing this for about half a minute, before she finally raised her finger, pointed me in the face and declared:

"You! You will come to the Crime Scene. Tonight. 19:00. Then, I will show you how to conduct a _real _investigation. And if you fail to _learn_ like a good student…"

She suddenly grabbed her whip, raised it and hit the floor with so much force that I could swear that I felt the ground under my feet vibrate from it. The loud, cracking noise this produced wasn't exactly pleasant either.

"_..Do you understand?_" she snapped at me.

"Y-Yes, Ma'am…" I uttered.

_(Good thing she's a Prosecutor and not a Grade School Teacher. No child in the world should ever be forced to feel the way I feel right now… *gulp*)_

On that note, had Franziska von Karma been my teacher on the day of the class-trial, I would probably be dead and buried now.

Another icy stare from Franziska followed, piercing right through my eyes, before she finally turned around and left with loud steps.

There is no word for the _relief _which I felt that moment. Gladly, I wiped away the sweat from my forehead and sighed:

"She's gone… She's gone, she's gone, she's gone…! She's gone, she's gone, she's gone…!"

19:00… so now I had six hours without that woman. Six hours without any whips, perfections or fools. Six hours of _freedom_.

I wished that I could make those six hours the best six hours of my life… But I knew that I wouldn't get the chance to do so. There were too many open questions left.

And the first two of them were red, had chains on them and blocked my view on the truth behind whatever a certain big mouthed lass had done at a certain time.

_(I watched her when she left the courtroom before… She headed for the cafeteria.) _

I put my hand into my pocket and enclosed the Magatama in it.

_(It's Show Time, Ms. Witness…)_

Just when I wanted to turn to the side and walk to the cafeteria, I heard steps behind me. They were close by and approaching quickly. I wanted to turn around and look who's there, but I didn't even get that far: Someone grabbed me by my sleeve, quickly took my hand, pressed something into it, closed it to a fist and let go again.

_(…?)_

By the time I had turned, all I could see was someone running down the hallway away from me, a long, black ponytail waving after her…

Of course, I recognized her.

_(Maya!)_

Surprised, I lifted the hand she had pressed the little object into and opened it before my eyes: The 'object' was a crumpled piece of paper from a notepad. I unfolded it as quickly as possible and read the note.

"_Please come to Kurain. 3 o' clock. You know the spot._

_M."_

_(No, Maya. I don't know the spot.)_

I couldn't do much more than sigh when I read the note… The scenes that happened in the courtroom just a few minutes ago replayed in my mind.

Maya… It was so obvious that Edgeworth's deduction wasn't too far off from the truth, but…

Could she and I really have been…a…a…

_(Ah… I don't know what to think anymore…)_

A headache. I put my palm to my forehead.

_(A relationship with… Maya… No, No, No I can't imagine that. She's just too… Maya.)_

To be honest, I couldn't picture any man in this world having a relationship of this kind with Maya. Maya just wasn't the… type. There were girls you could picture being someone's girlfriend and there was… well, Maya. Just… Maya.

_(Alright… I should probably focus on the content of the note… 3 o' clock, huh?)_

I took a look at my wristwatch.

_(And Kurain is two hours from here by train… Not to mention that Franziska wants me back at that Apartment at 7 o'clock… Two hours to Kurain, two hours back from Kurain, plus the time walking and searching for Maya's meeting place…There's no way I can make this.)_

I leaned against the wall, my hand sliding down from my forehead to my face.

_(I wish I had a car.)_

"Hey, Pal!"

I let my hand off my face. What I saw before me then was a dirty trench coat containing a person with a great, big smile on his face.

An idea then came to me all of a sudden.

_(Hm… That should work as well…)_

"Uhm… Why are you looking at me like that, Pal?" The detective looked a bit intimidated. "…You're kinda creeping me out…"

"Eh- It's nothing!" I quickly said, trying to smile. "Anyway… Detective Gumshoe, could you do me a favor?"

Gumshoe nodded.

"Anything for you, Pal!"

"Great! Eh… You do have a car, don't you?"

A nervous laugh from Gumshoe followed: "Well, I guess you can call it a car… But it's not… uhm, how do you say it… the newest model…?"

_(Second Hand. Like his whole life.)_

"But you can still drive it, right?"

"Of course!" He confirmed. "Anywhere you want me to, Pal!"

I nodded in order to imply that I understood.

"I need you to help me get somewhere..."

Now I paused. Trying to explain where exactly I needed to get was going to be difficult… I had never used anything but the train to get there and didn't really know which route to take by car… Hopefully, the Detective had a map with him, otherwise I'd be in trouble…

"It's a place called 'Kurain'. It's a village in the mountains north of the town and…"

"Ah! The place where they're shooting the Steel Samurai movie?"

"…"

Well, this made things a lot easier.

_(Thank god for publicity.)_

The Detective seemed very enthusiastic.

"That's just one hour and a half from here!" He declared merrily.

_(…I __**definitely need**__ to get myself a car.)_

I was starting to ponder what might be the quickest and, most importantly, least expensive way to get a Driver's License, when the Detective's voice attracted my attention.

"Wow, I didn't know you were such a big fan that you would drive all the way up there just to see those guys shooting!"

I jumped up.

"W-What? No, listen I'm not going there because of the mo-"

The detective laughed.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, pal! Your secret is safe with me."

"You got the wrong guy!"

But he just kept on laughing… except that the laugh somehow, in a weird way, reminded me of a giddy schoolgirl's giggle.

I decided to ignore Gumshoe's misinterpretation of my request to be brought to Kurain and focus on more important stuff again.

After all, I had just won an additional hour worth of time, just like that. I could actually feel how a lot of unnecessary weight fell off my shoulders.

Which meant that there was still time for…

"Alright, Detective… I have something to take care of in the cafeteria. Could you please get your car ready in the meantime?"

He saluted.

"OK, Pal! I'll be ready then… oh, wait, the cafeteria?" Gumshoe seemed to have remembered something: "Then, could you please give her that from me, while you're there? That'd be great!"

"Her?"

He didn't answer me, but handed me a little box… it was warm.

A lunch box.

Suddenly, I had a feeling I knew who 'her' was….

"I know, seeing how it's a cafeteria, it seems a little weird…" Detective Gumshoe told me. "But they don't sell those there and I know that she likes them the best!"

Wieners. The smell was unmistakably that of fried sausages.

Did the Courthouse Cafeteria really not have those on the menu…?

_(Alright… I guess I'll bring 'her' that lunchbox then…_

_Come to think… while I'm at it, I could also get rid of some unnecessary stuff, right? My suitcase is getting kind of heavy…)_

_

* * *

_

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Wiener-Lunchbox  
_Gumshoe asked me to give this to someone in the cafeteria.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

* * *

_And with this, the trial's first day comes to an end. Frankly, I'm quite glad. You have no idea how repetetive those Courtroom scenes got after Heatherd's testimony. -.-;_

_Seriously, I was SHOCKED when I saw how many of you guessed MAYA to be the killer when Edgeworth called her to the stand! O-o;_

_Did I really make it look like that? I mean, of course, somebody needs to have killed Ema, but MAYA? X-x Not even I am that twisted!_

_I had planned the scene with the pink letter for a long, long time now. It first came to me when I listened to Justice for All's "Pursuit-Cornered" theme and suddenly wondered what Maya would look like if she was put under the same kind of pressure Adrian Adrews was put in that game. Complete with shattering hair-decors. :-D_

_I tried hard to write that scene as well as possible, since it's one of my personal favorites. Not only did this give Phoenix a reason to finally fight for something in this trial (thus restoring the status quo somewhat), I also could play out the emotional side of the characters a bit. _

_Ah, the Maya-Phoenix pairing. What a strange one. On one hand, it seems nice, on the other hand, Maya's personality makes it seem logically impossible. To be honest, I don't know know whether to support this pairing or not, but I'm somewhat more inclined to say "No". In any case, Maya and Nick make wonderful friends. _

_Speaking of pairings... The Mitsu-Hodo joke was the main reason I made the envelope pink. Seriously. _

_More fun with Phoenix' non-existent driver's license. You can look at it from any angle you want, but, face it, a car is faster than a train for several reasons._

_Lastly: Weenies, Pal! ;-D_

_Oh, and... _

_100 COMMENT MARK BROKEN! WOOOOOOP! LET'S THROW A PARTY! ...Nick will pay! ;-)_


	16. Faith Love Hope and Luck

**May 2nd, 1:26pm  
District Courthouse Cafeteria**

If I really have to describe my first thoughts upon entering the cafeteria, I guess they went something like this:

_(What is this?)_

Everybody probably knows what a cafeteria is supposed to look like, right? That plain, boring look? The look that makes you happy that you won't have to spend much more than twenty to forty minutes in it because it looks just so incredibly dull that even a bathroom seems exciting compared to it? Well, the courthouse cafeteria was usually exactly like this. Usually.

Not so today. When I first opened the door, I was about to close it again, since I was _convinced _that this had to be the wrong room. The sign on the door, however, after some double checking, proved me wrong.

I stepped inside.

_(…)_

Well… I should probably list the odd things now, shouldn't I?

Firstly: It was pink. The room was PINK.

The tablecloths, the chairs, décor on the walls, the curtains… In addition to everything being frilly enough to rival the clothes Maya was now wearing.

I had no idea that a single room could be that pink-

-right until the memories of a certain French restaurant came back to my mind and I quickly decided to abandon any thoughts related to the color pink, in order to keep myself from barfing at those certain memories. A hard thing to do seeing as how I was surrounded by that color…

Alright, next odd thing: Cats.

Not living ones, of course. But the whole room was decorated with cats. White, anthropomorphic cats in dresses, with balloon-sized heads, giving them an eerily similarity to the Blue Badger, at least proportion-wise. Also, they had giant black eyes. I felt I was being watched by those eyes. It was creepy.

The third thing that stroke me: The smell.

It was …sweet. Incredibly sweet, actually… Nothing like lunch was supposed to smell like. At least _my_ lunch usually didn't smell like this. It smelt like someone had decided to cook three saucepans full of pure caramel on the stove for some reason. There was also a hint of a burnt fragrance in there… Hopefully somebody was in the kitchen to stop whatever what was cooking from setting the whole courthouse on fire.

So much for my initial impression.

_(…This has to be some sort of theme week or something, I guess…) _I finally concluded, after digesting the initial shock. _(Although I don't remember the Courthouse Cafeteria ever having any kind of—Oh, why am I even bothering with my memory anymore?)_

I took another look around.

_(I just wonder what kind of 'theme' this is supposed to be… 'I'm so glad I don't have diabetes'-week? This is just...eh…)_

I wanted to look to the other side of the room, but then I noticed how I wasn't able to look at the wall there any longer. Something was blocking my view now. Something –surprise, surprise – pink. And this something _saluted_.

"_WELCOME TO OUR HUMBLE ESTABLISHMENT, MASTER!"_

"WHAAAAA!"

Was my reaction.

"WHAAAAA!"

Was also pink-clad-saluting-someone's reaction to this being my reaction.

I identified "pink-clad-saluting-someone" as a young woman with short, brown hair, Maggey Byrde, just a split second before she tripped and fell to the floor. With a loud sound she landed on the tiles under our feet.

"Ow…Ow…Ow…" She rubbed her back a few times, then looked up at me with big eyes. "M-Mr. Wright, Sir! D-Don't shout like this! You scared me!"

"S…Sorry…?" I replied carefully, as I bowed down to her and helped her up. "You were the one to shout first! How do you think _I_ felt?"

"But I had to do this!" Maggey replied and she seemed still somewhat startled. "The correct greeting is the first step to conveying the correct atmosphere…eh…_Master_!"

She jumped up and bowed before me, so lowly, that her nose almost touched the floor.

I backed off at this: "D-Don't call me that! I'm not your master! I'm not even your superior!"

Maggey just shook her head and stepped towards me, insisting.

"That doesn't matter! In a Maid Café, every guest is the maid's master, Mr. Wright, master!"

"M-Maid Café?"_ (So that's what they're calling this nightmare?)_

"Yes!" She saluted again. "Step four in our great "The many faces of Asia"-Month: Tokyo! Emulated establishment of choice: An Akihabara-style Maid Café!"

_(I have that nagging feeling that I would have liked steps one to three waaaay better…)_

"And… the point is…?" I finally asked somewhat hesitantly.

Maggey was still saluting.

"To convey a pleasant, interesting atmosphere to our customers, so they might eventually decide to eat here again later, even when they're not watching one of the trials, master!"

_(Interesting? Goal Achieved. Pleasant? Absolute Failure.)_

Only now I finally took the time to take a closer look at what Maggey was wearing… And immediately started to think that this uniform might be part of the reason I recognized her so quickly, despite of the shock she gave me when I came: Aside from the fact that it was _pink_, it looked pretty similar to the uniform of the Trés Bien waitresses, which she had worn during the trial in January. It made me wonder what the point of this being an Asia-themed month was when they were going to dress the waitresses in French fashion, but… oh well. It wasn't like traditional Japanese clothes were anything special to me any longer anyway, so this was, in a certain way actually more 'interesting' to me… But not in the way they intended it to be, that's for sure.

Also, I still didn't understand the Cats. Not at all.

Just then, Maggey started twiddling her fingers a little nervously and bit her lip.

"Well… it's actually like this, Sir, you know… "She peeked up at me. "The cafeteria has been running a little low on costumers lately. People rather bring their own food or leave the courthouse to eat somewhere else… so the administration had to take action."

"And… this is the result?" I asked, wondering how a person who seriously believed this to be a nice idea could possibly have the intellectual capacities to end up handling the administration of _anything_.

"Yes…" Maggey nodded half-heartedly. Apparently, despite her superficial enthusiasm, she wasn't too fond of this whole Maid-Café-thing either. I couldn't blame her for it. This had to feel degrading. Being forced to act like she was every costumer's personal slave, because of this whole "Master" business…

"Hm… but wait… "Something weird about this had occurred to me. "If I remember right…Wasn't the cafeteria a self-service restaurant?"

Maggey nodded and smiled agreeing. "Yes, that's correct. You take a tablet and plate, slide it along the rail over there and just take what you feel like eating!"

"**OBJECTION!"**

"But those two concepts are _contradicting_ each other!" I exclaimed without thinking, my finger flinging out like a bullet, right into the direction of Maggey's forehead.

"WHAAA!"

Maggey backed off in shock, tripped again and fell.

"OW! P-Please don't shout!"

"Argh! I'm sorry!"

I helped her get up again. Once back on her feet, Maggey started brushing the dust of her dress.

"Ah! Just look at this… that's not good. Those clothes were expensive. If I get those dirty, the administration will have me pay for the cleaning…"

_(Knowing your luck, you'll probably end up burning them to ashes then…)_

"Well… anyway…" Maggey was barely finished with her uniform when she turned at me again. She suddenly snapped back into her more energetic state, wildly moving her arms around as she exclaimed:

"What do you wish today, master? Be our guest! Would you be so kind as to honor us by taking a seat? I'll offer you tea and something to eat! Your every wish is my command!"

"Ehm…alright…" I decided to save both Maggey's and my dignity first. "On one condition, though… I'd like to ask you not to call me 'Master' anymore, alright? It's… kind of weird."

Maggey clapped her heels.

"Understood, Sir!"

_(Better…)_

"Alright…" I sighed. My eyes wandered up and down her uniform once more. "…So… you're working at the cafeteria now?"

"Yes, Sir!" Maggey nodded. "After losing the job at the car wash, I thought about trying as a bailiff, but when I applied, they asked me to take the spot here instead!"

_(So she was fired from her last job... Ah…At least there are some things that never change.)_

I shouldn't have been happy about this, but it was good to know that Maggey was still the same as I remembered. The Maggey Byrde I knew had lost two jobs in less than two years for reasons she had absolutely no influence on: Being wrongly accused of murder. Both times. And that was just part of the bad luck she had. If everything she had told me about the two times I defended her was true, I would be far from surprised if I found out that her birthday was a Friday the 13th and that she grew up surrounded by black cats.

But, in a certain, weird way, I guess Maggey could also be considered 'lucky'. I mean, who else survives a fall from the 9th floor unscathed? At age one?

"Bailiff… so you tried getting back into law enforcement?" I finally asked her.

Maggey tilted her head. She seemed a little uncomfortable: "Well… mostly to stop Detective Gumshoe from using up all his gasoline for me…"

"Huh?"

I wondered what the gasoline in Gumshoe's car could possibly have to do with Maggey's job… although I already got a slight idea, even before Maggey finally went on.

"…Well, I don't have a car anymore, do I?" She told me, sighing and letting her head sink.

_(…Is that somehow related to that car-wash incident? Ah, I think I don't even want to know…)_

"Now the Detective insists on driving me everywhere. I thought that working here closer to him would be the best way to make sure that his driving routes stay… uhm… reasonably short."

"There are always taxis and the public means of transport." I told her, but she just shook her head.

"Taxis are expensive and I've been avoiding the tram ever since that encounter with that one pickpocket…"

"And you don't have a bike either?"

"I haven't used it ever since the incident with-"

Seeing where this was going, I quickly raised both my hands and stopped her:

"A-Alright, I get the picture."

Maggey didn't reply anything to this, but it was obvious that this hadn't been very encouraging for her. She sighed and turned her head away:

"What would I give for one day without any catastrophes…"

"Well… There's still today!" I told her in attempt to cheer her up. "Ehm… nothing has yet happened to you today, has it?"

Raising her head a bit again, Maggey pondered, before she replied. "Well… No, nothing yet…"

She then slowly started smiling during her next words.

"… Maybe you're right, Sir! …I mean…I just gotta keep on trying! And one day… One day I will have my one lucky moment! Yes, one day I'll stand up and kiss the 'Goddess of Misfortune' goodbye!"

Her enthusiasm had returned, which was good, albeit a bit sudden.

"Yes…ehm… Just stay on the ball!" I told her, again wishing that Maya was here. I knew that my cheering didn't sound too convincing. She was much better at this than me. Still, it seemed to have helped Maggey at least.

"Whew…" Maggey sighed one last time, although it was probably more out of relief. She saluted and looked at me. "I'm feeling a lot better now! Thank you, Sir!"

"You're welcome. Oh… and speaking of Detective Gumshoe…" I got the lunchbox out and handed it to her. "He gave me this for you."

"Oh…" The moment Maggey caught sight of the box, her eyes grew wide and shone. "…Weenies!"

She took the box and inhaled a deep breath full of the smell. "Ah! You were right, Sir! This really _is _my lucky day!"

"…" I decided to just ask before I get even more confused."…Because of… sausages?"

"Everything we have on the menu right now is _loaded_ with sugar!" Maggey explained to me. "I mean, I like cake and all… but there's a limit to everything! Right now…"

She smiled the biggest smile I ever remembered getting to see from her "… those weenies look like the most delicious thing in the world to me! I'm not kidding!"

_(I think I can understand her…) _I thought, finally getting aware of the smell in the cafeteria's air again. _(If I had to spend my whole day here, I'd be that enthusiastic about normal food as well…)_

"Thank you, Sir!"

Maggey saluted once again, before she hastily unwrapped and opened the lunch box and licked her lips. "Now… it's Lunch Time!"

"**HOLD IT!"**

"…!"

Maggey almost dropped her lunch from the shock when she heard that shout.

"W-What… W-Who…?"

_(…It wasn't me. I swear.)_

The voice had been female. I took a look around, in order to find out where it had actually come from and… found the source roughly two meters to our right.

And there she was: The blonde girl with the grumpy look… Lilie Heatherd. I should have known it was her. After all, I came to the cafeteria to talk to her in the first place.

Now, the great question: Was it a good or a bad thing that she 'found' me before I found her?

Heatherd had a large plate loaded with cakes and candy with her. She was continuously stuffing some of the contents into her mouth as if she would die of starvation the moment it wasn't filled to at least seventy five percent anymore. Finally, she stopped shoving, chewed a few times, swallowed and glared at Maggey.

"As I thought…"

She didn't honor me with a single glance from her eyes. Apparently, she even ignored that I was here. Instead, she stepped up straight to Maggey and pointed at her accusingly.

"…So, you were hiding some after all?"

"Eh…" Maggey had a big question mark on her face "Hiding? What?"

"Don't play dumb." Heatherd told her. "I'm talking about those."

She pointed at the lunchbox in Maggey's hands, causing her to exclaim. "Huh?"

"Geez, what a lousy service." Heatherd went on to say. "I clearly asked you 'Do you also have anything from the usual menu in stock today?' and you clearly answered 'No.'. And now, what is this? I find you eating the exact same sausages that I was planning on ordering! I've seen a lot, but I've never had the personnel at a restaurant _lying_ to me before. No wonder anyone hardly ever comes here nowadays. Hmph."

"Eh…No, No, you see, that's a misunderstanding, Miss!" Maggey tried to defend herself. "Those weenies… those are my-"

"Those are not 'Weenies'." Heatherd cut Maggey short and raised an eyebrow. "'Wieners', named after the Austrian city of Vienna, are made from pork _and_ beef, while the ones that you have here are made from pork only. Those are Frankfurter, their German equivalent. It's so obvious from the smell! Geez, you're working here and can't even tell _that _difference?"

_(Does anyone even CARE about that "difference"?)_

I touched my forehead with my fingers and shook my head in disbelief at the performance this girl was giving here.

After she finished her sausage lecture – which I strongly suspected to be completely made up, just for the sake of humiliating Maggey – Heatherd stuffed some more cake into her mouth, swallowed, started playing with her hair again and addressed Maggey with a rather rude tone.

"Waitress. I want my Frankfurters spicy. So bring some chili to my table, understood?"

"What?" Maggey seemed understandably shocked. "B-But I can't give you those! They were a gift from-"

"So…" Heatherd looked at the ceiling and tightly wrapped some of her hair around her finger "If it's like that, I'm sure your boss will love to hear how this 'maid' threatens her 'masters'… Do you already know where you'll apply next?"

"…!"

Maggey backed off. She was apparently out of counter arguments… She waited a few seconds before she threw the Lunchbox a last, longing look. Then she reluctantly held it out to Heatherd.  
"H-Here…Just take it…"

"Oh?" Heatherd listened up. "What was that? Didn't sound exactly like a proper maid, if you ask me…"

"Eh…" Maggey sighed. Her face looked rather… tortured. She held out the lunchbox, bowed and stated in a monotonous voice.

"…Here… please accept this most humble gift of a simple maid… Mistress…"

"Good."

Heatherd snatched the lunchbox out of Maggey's hand, ignoring that she looked like she was on the verge of tears, and simply added it to the food on her plate. She turned around to return to her table...

"**HOLD IT!"**

This time it was me.

"Ms. Heatherd, I don't think you'll have the time to eat those!" I told her rather loudly. I hadn't thought that it would be possible for her to make me dislike her anymore than I already did, but she had gone and done it.

_(Now I'll get you…)_

I raised my arm and pointed at her, shouting.

"I have some questions for you and I won't take an "I don't feel like talking" for an answer!"

"Oh?"

Heatherd turned around and paid me a quick glance, before turning back around again.

"Ah…Mr. Wright… didn't notice you were there."

I frowned when I heard her seriously claiming this.

_(I stood right in front of you the whole time, girl. I'm not __**that **__easy to miss…)_

"Anyway… Forget it." She told me bluntly. "I already told you everything I know today and I hate repeating myself. It's not my fault that your opponent had two women with a fake testimony up his sleeve."

"No. Maya didn't even give the testimony Edgeworth wanted." I disagreed. "She fought his claim that her mother saw her till the very end."

"Oh? Really? Now that's a new one…" She said, sounding slightly interested. Emphasis on 'slightly'. "Sorry, but I didn't really pay attention to that part of the trial… I probably fell asleep somewhere along the way…"

_(…'Fell Asleep'? With Franziska's whip cracking, Maya crying__,__ and the other observers running amok?)_

"Ms. Heatherd… I know that you are hiding something from us…"

My hand wandered into my pocket, reaching for the Magatama inside.

"…I wonder what this is? What are you keeping secret?"

"Nothing." She replied shortly, an angry glare in her eyes. "Geez… You know what? You're really starting to annoy me with that one question of yours. No matter how many times you ask it, the answer won't change."

_(I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you, Missy…)_

The two Psyche Locks had reappeared. Now all I had to do was break them. And how _eager _I was to break them…

"And now, excuse me. I'm hungry."

She continued her way back to her table. And given the amount of food she had loaded on her plate, it would take a while until she would leave… She wouldn't escape now. Her appetite and overconfidence would be her downfall… at least that of her Psyche Locks.

In any case, Maggey remained left behind with me, lunch-box-less and obviously a little crushed. She starred at her empty hands and sighed.

"Oh… So much for my lunch…"

A loud rumbling sound followed that statement. Probably Maggey's stomach. I felt sorry for her, but somehow we could have foreseen this… Maggey always ends up getting the short end of the stick. That's basically her job. The one nobody could fire her from …

"Hm…" I took a look over to Heatherd, who was just returning to her table, mumbling. "I could sue her for you…"

And I wasn't just joking. I seriously played with the thought of doing it.

Maggey, however, just shook her head.

"No, thank you, Sir… With my luck, I know I'd only lose that lawsuit… " She crossed her arms. The expression on her face became a little more aggressive. "You know, actually, I'm not really that upset because she took my lunch… I've had way worse things happen to me. I'm just annoyed because it was that girl who suggested that whole weird concept here in the first place! And now she's complaining about the menu…Hmph."

"That was her?" I asked surprised, causing Maggey to nod.

"Yes. The administration held a competition to decide the themes of the Asia Month and that girl… well, she entered about fifty concepts or so…"

I gasped when I heard the number.

"F-Fifty?"

Maggey smiled again.

"Yeah, pretty amazing, huh? I guess she really loves Asian Restaurants."

_(Hm… Come to think of it, Heatherd mentioned that she was fond of foreign food during her testimony, didn't she? Still… fifty restaurant concepts… wow…)_

"Ehm… Mr. Wright?"

"…Yes?"

I turned my attention to Maggey again as she continued.

"…thank you for trying to cheer me up, Sir…" She was still smiling, but seemed a little hesitant to speak on. "Eh…I hope this doesn't sound weird now, but… Did something happen? …Eh, something good, I mean."

"…?"

Maggey continued. "It's just that… you seem to be in such a good mood today. You never just talk to anyone like that… In such a friendly way, too… And even though the trial's not going too well…Ah!" Like she had remembered something, her head swung up, and she nervously started making corrections to what she said.

"Of course, I don't mean that you're performing badly! And it's also not like you're always in a foul mood or something… I mean… eh…"

I didn't need a Magatama to see that those two added sentence were everything but honest. Maggey suddenly started evading my eyes, like she was afraid of them… Reminding me of what everybody here believed 'me' to be like.

To her and everybody else here, 'Phoenix Wright' was a person who didn't show regret over inflicting harm on others. An egotist who cared for nobody but himself… or, like Maya put it, 'A horrible, heartless monster'…

No matter how hard it was for me to believe this, to everybody else here, this was the 'reality'. This completely different 'me' was the 'real me' to them. This was the 'Phoenix Wright' Maggey was probably used to. But just now, I had led small talk with her and tried to lift her spirit. _Of course_ she now believed me to be in an unusually good mood… My behavior had to be completely 'Out of Character' in her eyes. But… if acting 'In Character' here, in this place, meant to hurt others without any good reason… It was the last thing I wanted to do. Even if everybody probably would come to think I had hit my head somewhere, like Edgeworth and Mia now did. I wouldn't betray all of my ideals just to avoid suspicions.

"It's alright." I finally stated to Maggey, trying to look her in the eyes. "You're right; I was horrible in court today. There's no need to gloss over how awful my prosecution was."

"Huh?"

Maggey looked surprised, but finally stopped evading my look. I continued talking.

"And… if you think that it's weird that I'm just talking to you like that, you don't need to hide that either."

This little speech earned me a few seconds of blinking from the 'maid' before me.

"Mr. Wright… Wow…" Maggey was finally really looking at me again. "…I don't think I've ever seen you that open before, Sir…" Maggey was smiling at whatever she was currently thinking back to. "That reminds me…I still remember, back when I was still in the force… What Detective Fey always said about you… "

I listened up.

"Detective Fey… Mia?"

Maggey then started talking in a different tone, like she was trying to mimic someone's voice.

"'_This guy is not as stiff as he'd like everyone to believe'_… That's what she always told us trainees, you know… Although she somehow stopped saying it one day, I think…"

_(…Mia…)_

I stared at Maggey for a short time, puzzled. What was the meaning of this…?

Just then, I heard a sound besides me. The sound of something falling flat on the floor.

It sounded exactly the same as when Maggey had tripped and fallen to the floor a few minutes back. Except that Maggey was standing safe and sound in front of me right now, so it had to be somebody else this time.

Maggey was faster and already had run past me when I turned to see who had caused this sound.

"Oh no! Are you alright?"

I saw her kneeling down to the person on the floor in order to help him up. Following her a few steps in order to catch a glance of the one who had tripped, I saw that it was a boy, probably around fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a blue baseball cap. He had apparently slipped on a wet spot on the tiles.

Maggey lent him a hand, but he quickly got up by his own, telling her:

"D-Don't worry, Ma'am! I'm fine, I just ran a little too fast!"

The boy was standing upright now, and I was able to see him from the front. He wore a plain, grey Blue Badger T-Shirt and had messy black hair, but there wasn't anything outstanding about him, to tell the truth. If there was anything that stuck out in his appearance even a little bit, it was the necklace he was wearing… It looked like a giant clover.

_(Wow. I can recognize clovers.) _I realized a little surprised, remembering how horrible my knowledge regarding biology trivia was. _(…Ah, but a clover is not a flower, is it? Too bad, I could downright brag with that if it was… Hm?)_

I took a closer look at the necklace, when I noticed in what kind of weird position it was dangling from the boy's neck.

_(…It's coming loose… Did that happen when he tripped?)_

"Excuse me, but I really gotta go!"

The boy had barely even finished saying 'gotta' when he had already dashed off to the door again. A 'clack!' sound just a second later confirmed at least what I suspected regarding the necklace.

_(…It fell down.)_

I quickly hurried over to where the boy had been just a moment ago and found the necklace lying on the tiles. Picking up the item quickly, I turned to the door and shouted.

"Hey! You lost this!"

But the boy didn't hear me and just left. The necklace stayed with me…

"…And now he's gone. " Maggey said looking at the door.

I showed her the clover.

"He lost this…"

"That's not too bad. I think I've seen him here before." Maggey told me. "I can give it back to him the next time he comes… What kind of necklace is it?"

"Hm…I think it's some kind of pendant…"

Out of curiosity, I took a look at the clover. It was made of porcelain-enamel, which was the reason its surface reflected the light like glass. It was a good thing it didn't break when it fell on the tiles.

_(On closer inspection… I think that's actually a locket…) _I realized, when I saw a small slit and a notch on the clover's side. That was probably where you could open the necklace in order to put a photo inside.

Just when I turned the locket around in my hand, wondering if I should try opening it or not, my right sleeve slid back a little revealing my watch under it. I caught a glance of the current time… 1:35pm.

_(…!)_

I remembered my 'time-limit' and jumped up, heading for my actual reason for being here… Lilie Heatherd at her table.

"Mr. Wright!" Maggey called. "Wait! You didn't tell me what you want to drink yet!"

"Sorry , I don't have time for that now, tomorrow maybe!"

In my hurry, I forgot to hand her the necklace. When I was already halfway through the room, I decided that I'd give it to her on my way back outside.

Heatherd sat on the other end of the room –which was, by the way, a rather large room – and I had to worm my way through quite a lot of illogically set up tables and chairs before I reached her. Moving around here was a lot easier usually, but it seemed like the person who arranged everything for the theme month decided that they were in need for a few additional two-person tables. To think that poor Maggey had to serve in this labyrinth… By the way, the fact that this was actually supposed to be a self-service restaurant _still _bugged me.

And finally… I made it. I stood right before her table. Or rather, before the huge mountain of pastry, which was burying her table. First it seemed like she wasn't taking any notice of me, but just when I was about to say something to gain her attention, Heatherd looked up from her feast and threw me a glance.

"Oh. You again."

Her voice made it sound like I was a stalker. Which I was definitely not. I just wanted to get this over with. I quickly fetched myself a chair so I could be on eye-level with her without ruining my back.

"Hmph…" Heatherd was not too happy about this. She quickly swallowed and then glared at me from the side. "Did I ask you to sit down here? No I didn't."

"I don't care." I answered her, deciding to fight fire with fire.

"Go away." She told me.

"No." I replied.

"…"

Even though she didn't change her expression one bit, I could downright feel how the tension slowly built up. Still, she pretended to ignore me, and continued shoving cake into her mouth. One wonders how someone could possibly be that lean with a diet like this.

"Ms. Heatherd." My patience was finally dead and buried. "I want you to tell me the whole truth. _Now._"

"_GEEZ!" _All of a sudden, she jumped out of her chair and shouted. "What's your problem? I am _eating! _Eating! Can't you just scram and leave me alone for _one minute? _This is a free country!"

"…!"

I backed off. This was something I hadn't expected to happen. Until now, her emotional reactions had never gone much beyond a _really _annoyed tone in her voice and some glaring… This time, she had really snapped at me. Maybe just sitting down at her table like that had been a bit too much?

_(But that means that she's more nervous than before, doesn't it?) _

I realized that the way she was moving was really quite different from before. Like she was anxious because of something… Maybe because of the flaws that were found in her testimony?

I smiled.

_(That should make everything a lot easier.)_

I put my hand into my pocket and picked up the Magatama.

_(Alright… Let's go.)_

With a quick move, I pulled the gem out.

"**TAKE THAT!"**

The Psyche Locks were clearly in my view now and I felt the Magatama glowing in my hand. Now, it was just a pure question of deduction to finally break Heatherd's iron resistance.

_**~What I really did~**_

"Hm, what's that? Jade? A Lucky Charm or something?" Heatherd took an interested look at the Magatama.

I quickly enclosed it in my fist to make sure she'd focus on my face, rather than on what was in my hand, but that attempt failed. Her eyes stayed off mine. I decided to just move on, even without eye contact.

"Ms. Heatherd, you keep claiming that you saw nobody but Ema and Lana on the 20th floor around the time of the crime… But I don't believe you that those are really the only people that passed by during this time."

"Oh… I see. The witnesses the Defense brought in today, right?" Heatherd had put down her fork and started playing with her pigtails once again. "Well, they lied. Simple. I mean, they are both related to Mr. Edgeworth's girlfriend, aren't they? It would have been a piece of cake for him to manipulate their testimonies, I think."

"Apart from the fact that Edgeworth wouldn't do this, _(At least not here) _there are too many things that don't check out with this 'theory' of yours. For example, Mrs. Fey and Maya struggled against revealing the crucial information that Edgeworth wanted during their testimonies. This didn't look like it was set up."

"And yet it was." Heatherd insisted. "Everything was staged, isn't that obvious? A nice little show to make sure the judge would buy it. Causing confusion is always a good way to stretch a trial, don't you agree?"

_(She's talking from experience, I guess…)_

"Or…"

Heatherd glanced at me from the side in a suspicious way:

" …Or do you want to tell me that you and that girl actually _had _ an affair?"

_(Argh!) _I almost jumped. _(I thought she said that she didn't pay attention during that part of the trial?)_

"No!" I quickly declared. "No, that's not what I meant! There are more things about your testimony that don't check out! For example…" I quickly focused again. "There is one contradiction in it that Edgeworth couldn't have had any influence on."

"Oh?" Heatherd listened up "And what'd that contradiction be?"

_(Hm… yes, what exactly…Ah, I think I got it.)_

"It's the order you saw Lana and Ema entering the apartment in. You said you saw Ema coming first and Lana coming second. Both between 4:30pm and 4:45pm. Is that right so far?"

"Yes, that's pretty much how it happened." She nodded, but I shook my head.

"No. That's not possible." I told her

"_You couldn't have seen Ema enter before Lana, especially not in that timeframe. You couldn't have because…"_

I gathered my thoughts, quickly went through all the facts again, and made a decision.

"**TAKE THAT!"**

I showed her the phone from my pocket.

"…Your cellphone?" Heatherd eyed what I presented to her skeptically. "Nice strap…"

"I didn't want to show you that strap." I told her. _(Although it really __**is **__a nice strap…) _"I wanted to show you… This."

After some fumbling around, I finally managed to open the file I had wanted. I showed it to Heatherd.

"This is a text message Ema wrote to me just the morning before she died… _'Let's meet at 5 pm in your apartment'_..."

"…!"

Heatherd's head flung up.

"Five… Five o' clock? Exactly...?" She whispered, in an uncharacteristically subdued manner.

"Seems like you already figured out what this means." I told her. "Ema would have had no reason to enter the Apartment that much sooner than we had arranged. Meaning that if Lana really arrived at around 4:45, Ema wouldn't have come before her! She would have come _after."_

The hair fell down from Heatherd's finger, as she froze in place.

The Magatama did its work… She was unable to just ignore and brush off my attack.

"D-Darn…" She whispered.

"So, do you admit that you lied regarding what you saw?"

"Ah…" She shook her head in an attempt to regain her composure, took a few deep breaths and turned her head away.

"Alright, alright, I made a mistake…I guess ..." She was already spinning her hair again. "…I must have confused them."

"Them?"

Now, _I _was a little confused.

"MAYOI and the victim." Heatherd claimed. She put the fingers of her free hand to her mouth, like she was thinking about something. "That girl… She always wore her hair the same way MAYOI does in the trailers for the Steel Samurai movie, right? So, let's assume MAYOI was really there that day…"

Heatherd spoke rather slowly, like she was trying to construct the scene just as she spoke.

"…then I probably saw MAYOI from behind and thought it was the girl in the lab coat. That's why I didn't notice her and why there was that small mistake in my testimony… I think that's probably the best explanation, hm?"

_(Hm… Is that possible?)_

"…No, it isn't." I decided.

"Hm?"

"The key lies in Maya's testimony." I explained. "Maya mentioned something important… She had _re__-__dressed _before the time of the crime in order to not stand out in public. Which means that she didn't sport any of her stage hairstyles at the time. Also, Maya's hair is much darker and longer than Ema's. You couldn't have confused them!"

And that's when Heatherd froze again. I could see that she was desperately grasping for some kind of explanation, but couldn't find any. Finally she balled her hand to fists and put them to her face. She screamed.

"ARGH!"

I heard a loud crack.

The first Psyche Lock had shattered.

_(Yes!)_

"Alright! Alright!"

She squinted her eyes, finally having an expression much more appropriate for her appearance of her face: That of a school child who was just caught in an act.

"I admit it! I actually didn't pay attention at all at that time that day! That's why I got the order wrong and missed those two other people passing by! Happy?"

"You didn't pay attention?" I asked.

"I was… distracted for a few minutes…" She told me, slowly regaining some calmness. She took a breath. The annoyed look returned to her face. Crossing her arms, she continued.

"But that doesn't change _anything _about the situation, OK? Even if somebody else came by, nobody could have opened the door! That woman was the only other person who had a keycard… She has to be the killer!"

"It doesn't change anything? No, I don't think so." I told her, holding the Magatama tightly. "What you did in court today was perjury. And as a lawyer, you are aware of how serious this is. In the worst case, you could even lose your badge…"

…

_(…Huh?)_

Something happened then. For a moment, I felt like I'd lose my focus on the witness' Psyche Locks. A slight dizziness overcame me and I felt the tension that I had built up wavering.

_(Argh! Stay focused, Phoenix! You're too far to be set back now!)_

"Hm? You got a problem?" I heard Heatherd ask me.

I quickly shook my head, both to answer her question, and to regain my concentration:

"Anyway…" I continued. "There has to be a reason why you took this risk. Probably in order to cover up something else."

"Oh… I see what you're implying…" She glared from the corners of her eyes again. "Alright, Mr. Wright. Let's get one thing straight: I am _not _the killer."

"Yes, probably not."

"Hm?"

My agreement appeared to surprise her a little bit. I continued.

"After all, you didn't have a keycard, and your fingerprints weren't on the doorknob. You couldn't have opened the door."

"Ah…" Heatherd raised her left hand and wrapped her hair around its pointing finger, starting to play around with it yet again. "...Seems like you finally understood that. Good."

"However…" I strengthened my concentration. "…this doesn't mean that you're not covering for someone else."

"Someone else? And who would that be?"

"It can't be Lana. And I don't think you would cover for either Mrs. Fey or her daughter…" I thought aloud. "So it has to be someone who hasn't testified to court yet."

"So it's a _fourth_ witness?" She asked with a disbelieving tone, before she peeked at me. "Geez. You and that Edgeworth… you're really _fond _of just randomly making up new people for your cases at every given opportunity, aren't you?"

"Edgeworth's witnesses have proven themselves to be real." I denied. "And I think the person in my theory is real as well."

"And on what 'basis' do you build that theory? How do you plan to "link" your hypothetical fourth witness to the crime?"

There was spite in Heatherd's voice, but I just ignored it.

_(Hm… what might connect an apparently unrelated person to this case? I think there's something that could do this…)_

I reached into my case and got out an item from the court record…

"**TAKE THAT!"  
**

The list with the fingerprints in my hand, I started explaining.

"I think we've already established the fact that not a lot of people were visiting me. My contacts didn't expand much beyond Iris, Ms. Skye and her sister… Yet, there were the fingerprints of someone else on the doorknob. Someone's profile wasn't registered in the court record for this case at the time."

"So?" Heatherd asked indifferently.

"What if those fingerprints… belong to the person you are covering for?"

"…"

She stopped playing with her hair again, but said nothing. I tried to press harder.

"You knew that this person had touched the doorknob. And you knew that they did it without gloves. So you decided not to bring them up in your testimony. Because the moment they would be entered to the witnesses, their fingerprint data would be in the court record. And the question mark on this list would be substituted with this person's name… effectively making them a suspect!"

"…"

I saw the sweat dropping from Heatherd's forehead and felt like I already held victory in my hands.

_(That's it.) _I thought._ (That's why she avoided changing her testimony with all her might. It just has to be!)_

"F-Forget it!" She shook her head. "What are you saying? Me? Covering for someone? Hah! Why should I risk losing my job for someone else? That's nuts! I'm not stupid, Mr. Wright."

"It's true. You wouldn't do something like this for just anyone. But maybe… there is one person you would risk this for…" I thought, wondering, if this might be it.

"H-Huh…?" Heatherd looked away. "…A person… I'd risk this for…?"

"Yes." I nodded, putting my hand to my chin and thinking hard. I was on the right track, I knew it…

"Your boyfriend, maybe?"

"…!"

I saw Heatherd clenching her teeth as I went on.

"You mentioned having one during the trial. And you got jealous when his fondness of a certain teen idol came up. Are you very attached to him?"

"…"

Heatherd crossed her arms, closed her eyes and turned her head away, holding her nose high:

"I don't… I don't have a boyfriend."

"But you mentioned him."

"I lied. It sounded fancy."

"…"

_(There has to be some way to prove that she didn't make her boyfriend up… But how?)_

I let my eyes sweep across Heatherd, hoping to find _something _that would point towards a relationship with a man… A ring, talisman, a necklace, anything….

_(…A necklace…)_

That's when it came to me…

"…The buttons on your clothes…"

"Hm?"

Somewhat reluctantly, Heatherd listened up again.

"Your hairclip too… And the pattern on your skirt…" I went on. "Those are all clovers, aren't they?"

"_Four-leaf_ clovers." She emphasized. "A mutation of the common clover. They represent love, faith, hope and luck. But I mostly wear them because I like the shape. Now…Is that a crime?"

"No…

_It's just that I have already seen that shape somewhere else today…"_

My hand reached for the item I had picked up from the floor just a few minutes ago…

"**TAKE THAT!"  
**

I held out the locket so Heatherd could see it well. And this was the moment that the last bit of composure she had kept finally collapsed. Her face turned pale.

"…W-Where did you get that?"

"A young boy dropped it on his way out of here. He seemed in a hurry, so I didn't get a chance to return it to him." I explained, watching how the nervousness in Heatherd's eyes grew.

I realized that I hadn't gotten to see her eyes before, since she had never looked at me directly. In fact, she wasn't even now. She was only staring at the necklace in my hand. Still, that was enough to finally tell that her eyes were bright brown…

"…"

"Ms. Heatherd… I have a feeling I know who the owner of this locket really is. Should we try to find out if I'm right?"

"…!"

Heatherd backed off. Her face was completely wet now and her hands shook. It surprised me how much fear she showed… hadn't Edgeworth told me that she was hard to intimidate? That was even more proof that the content of this locket was very personal to her… It seemed like I was really following the right trail.

_(Although… That boy couldn't possibly be an adult, right? So if I am right, that would mean… Heatherd's boyfriend is just… Ungh…)_

This thought was just… unsettling. But no matter how weird the idea appeared to be, there was a possibility that it was true. And as long as this possibility was there, I had to try it.

If there was any time to open this locket, it was now.

I put my fingers to the notch on the side and opened, noticing how Heatherd bit her lip as I did.

"Aha, what have we got here?"

There was a photograph inside. And it showed Lilie Heatherd and the boy who lost the locket before. Holding hands with each other in what appeared to be a Photo Booth.

"…"

I stared at the photo silently for a few seconds. Yes, I had been somewhat prepared for it. But it was still… just…

_(I really wish I had been wrong. Just this once.)_

"So…" I finally turned the locket around and showed it to Heatherd. "This is your boyfriend?"

(_This girl and a little boy… Oh god…)_

"N-No!" Heatherd wildly shook her head. "What… What are you saying? Of course that's not my b-b-boyfriend! He's… He's my little brother, OK?"

I sighed closed my eyes.

"…I really…_really_ wish this was true, but … it isn't."

"H-How would you know?"

"It's biologically impossible."

_(I don't know a thing about flowers, but at least I know basic genetics…)_

"You're a blonde, his hair is black. He has blue eyes, yours are brown. Ergo: You are not related…"

"But… But… That's just not… It's really not…"

"And Maggey said that he comes here quite often… He's cheering for you during your trials, isn't he? Maybe he's even the one providing you with those snacks that you get out of nowhere. Also, didn't you mention that you went to the concert with him that evening? The two of you must have met somewhere… could that have been in your apartment?"

"That's not… You're not…I… I…"

She desperately clung to the last shards of her shattered testimony, but I was ready to annihilate those as well.

"There is no use trying to deny it any longer, Ms. Heatherd. On that day, you weren't alone. This boy, your boyfriend, was with you. That's why you were too distracted to notice that more people came by than you has expected to. And somewhere along the way… that boy's fingerprints found their way onto my door. This is how it has to have happened. The reason you lied in court is that you were covering for this boy. The whole time."

"…"

Heatherd's whole body shook reluctantly in her last few moments of resistance before she finally broke down.

"ARGHHH! _GODDAMN IT!_"

With this, her second Lock finally shattered into a thousand shards. The chains fell apart. And Lilie Heatherd was wide open for further questioning.

**~UNLOCK SUCCESSFUL~**

Heatherd sat there, her hands on her lap. All that composure she may have possessed before completely and utterly sucked out… I almost felt sorry for her, seeing how the reason for her lie had turned out to be the well-being of her boyfriend.

Almost.

I put the Magatama away. Finally this was moving forward.

"So, your whole testimony was a lie. For that boy."

"H-He's just a kid!" Heatherd's head rose suddenly, when she shouted at me. "He wouldn't hurt a fly! He probably doesn't even know how to spell 'murder'!"

There it was again. This sudden snapping at me… The tone in her voice and her expression were _nothing _like what she had behaved like before I had started attacking her Psyche Locks.

She stood up, fletched her teeth and went a step towards me:

"He's my Lanny! My angel! My prince! If you drag him into this mess… No…If you go anywhere _near_ him, _you die!"_

It was obvious that she was dead serious about this, but somehow… I couldn't take her serious for some reason. There was something… something in her voice and expression that I couldn't quite pinpoint. This something made her seem ridiculous to me, rather than intimidating.

_(Hm… Weird… That expression… I feel like I've seen it somewhere before…)_

"…'Lanny'? Is that his name?" I finally just asked.

Heatherd looked like she was desperately trying to regain her cool. "Argh…"

She crossed her arms and turned her head away.

"…Dylan Sengage. That's his full name, if you really want to know. And yes… his prints are on the doorknob…"

She took a deep breath, before her usual expression finally returned. Like nothing had happened, she started playing with her pigtails again.

"It was… a mix up." She explained. "He confused our doors and tried to open yours by accident. Of course, his card didn't work, but he only noticed that after he had shaken the door by the knob for a few seconds. That's how his prints got on there, alright? It has nothing to do with the murder."

Heatherd peeked at me again.

"…That was all Ms. Skye. My testimony , as fake as it was, didn't hurt the truth, you see."

"And I am saying that you're wrong." I told her, shaking my head decidedly. "A lie is still a lie and will always warp the facts. You can't just go and underline what you believe to be "true" with made-up statements. That's not how it works. We have to consider everything that happened. …Including things like what we found out about your 'Lanny's' prints just now."

"Geez… A Sherlock Holmes wannabe,huh?" Heatherd appeared barely impressed. After saying this, she pushed her chair back to the table, indicating that she wasn't planning on sitting down on it again. Her movements were fast and showed that she was still quite irritated.

"Guys like you… You… that Edgeworth guy… You guys think you could do anything. Everything you think is right, and every judgment you make infallible. You just snap your fingers and everything in the world is just and fair, right? Just like a game… And every case is like a level. Of _course_ you 're always right. You're the protagonist. You can't fail."

She threw me a short, but contempt-filled, glance "But… didn't you ever think that maybe, just maybe… you're just a fallible human too, after all? What about _your _mistakes? Does anybody ever judge them in your little game-world? And does anybody apply _just _punishment for them? _You _yourself, maybe? Heh. …I don't think so. The 'hero' of your game never falls, does he?"

"…"

Surprised, I looked at her. This girl was the last person I had expected to say something like that…

Was she serious about this? Or was she just trying to make me feel bad with all her might?

"Give me that."

"H-Hey!"

While I was still off-guard, Heatherd had pushed me to the side, grabbed the locket, which I still had in my hand, closed it, and went off, as I was still in the process of stumbling backwards a few steps. When I regained my balance, she was already halfway through the room, heading for Maggey. Presumably to pay that cake orgy of hers…

_(Dylan Sengage… huh?) _I thought. _(So there was another witness to this case after all… Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend… Ugh…)_

I frowned at the thought.

_(She called him 'kid'… If he's as old as he looks, that would make him eight or nine years younger than her and a minor…wow. And the audience at the trial called the idea of Maya and me together 'creepy'…)_

Maya… If I ever wanted to find out what the truth behind that letter that Edgeworth had found was, I had to go to Kurain and meet her. As quickly as possible.

"Hm…"

My cellphone was still in range. I picked it up and started dialing.

"Hello? Detective?...Yes, it's me. Are you ready with the car yet?"

* * *

**_Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)_**_:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Cellphone  
_Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

* * *

_A~nd this fanfic has it's own TV-tropes **page** now…_

_Wow, this is an awesome dream. My best one in months. Please, nobody wake me up now. I beg on you. ^^ And in the unlikely case that this is actually real, feel free to wake me up if I happen to faint._

_Starting tomorrow, I will replace the Court-Record Section in my profile by a link to this fanfic's topic on courtrecords dot net. I have all evidence lines up neatly and sorted by chapters there and arranging it on my profile is just a giant PAIN, not to mention confusing. Also, this will spare you the updating delays the court record has suffered until this point. I think that is the best solution. _

_This chapter really dragged to write. Mostly because I have to study for university as well now. But also because I feel like my writing was getting repetitive… Is my writing really getting repetitive? Is it getting repetitive? Is it, is it? T-T_

_I had to cut a scene from this chapter and move it back 5 chapters or so, because it just wouldn't have fit in here anymore, neither in terms of time, nor flow. It's hurting me a little bit that I had to do this, because this is postponing the appearance of one of my favorite canon characters…_

_I never was in a "real" Maid Café before, but I know that what they sell really tends to be overly sweet. It's a Japanese thing, I guess. Of course, I exaggerated a little here… This whole scene actually mainly served the purpose of giving Maid Maggey an appearance. Dunno. I just like Maid-Uniform Maggey. I generally like Maggey. She's an awesome character._

_Look, another Original Character thrown into the cast! Because the Profile-Section wasn't already overloaded enough! -.-;_

_Note to self: Next time I write an Ace Attorney Fanfiction, I'll make sure that the court record isn't longer than the Great Chinese Wall. Seriously. _

_The chapter title is a reference to the german play "Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung" (Faith, Love, Hope) which is about a young woman who, in a combination of society-inaceptance and a streak of incredibly bad luck looses all her faith and hope, is left by her lover, manages to even mess up her own suicide and in the end dies after all from the cold, just after meeting her lover again... Oh, did I mention that that lover was a policeman? _

_Eh, yeah, just some literature trivia here. No hints for the story, don't worry. ;-P  
_


	17. Afraid?

**May 2****nd****, 1:50pm**

My wait after the call wasn't too long. Gumshoe picked me up from the courthouse steps less than five minutes later. When I saw his car, I knew right away that he hadn't been kidding when he told me that it 'wasn't the newest model'. Not only was it old, it didn't exactly look like the owner had taken good care of it either. It seemed like Gumshoe was just a tad too enthusiastic about his occupation as a 'cop', since all those dents and scratches on the lacquer hinted a Hollywood-chase-scene-like treatment of this poor, poor vehicle. But maybe this was only natural, seeing as how the detective probably had little other means of actually enjoying his job than living all the clichés for what they were worth. Thankfully, despite their looks, the seats in the car were not uncomfortable at all. Not exactly soft and fluffy, of course, but nice enough to finally just sit down and relax. Just the kind of rest I needed now. Not only because the trial had been a straining experience, but because I had gotten up rather early that morning. The use of the Magatama had left me rather exhausted as well.

To be honest, this was worrying me a bit. Of course, it was normal that I felt a little drained after breaking a set of Psyche Locks, but it usually wasn't that severe. I decided that it would probably be for the best to be especially careful when using the Magatama for the time being. Just for the sake of security.

"One and a half hour, huh?" I asked when we finally crossed the city boarders. The Detective nodded.

"Yeah, that's how long it takes at most usually, Pal. … Except when you have engine trouble, of course."

This statement was followed by Gumshoe's nervous laugh, causing me to believe that he wasn't just joking but had already experienced this exact situation on this exact road before. That thought unsettled me a little.

"Don't worry, Pal. I just had the car checked last week!" he quickly told me like he had somehow figured out what I was thinking about. I just nodded to show that I heard him, but said nothing.

The angle the car drove in steadily turned sharper now. There wasn't much in sight from the windscreen now, except for the trees, a massive rock wall that belonged to a mountain and some more trees. This made a rather boring front view. After a while, I moved my head to the right in order to look out of the window there and watch more interesting scenery pass by… But this turned out to be a bad idea of epic proportions.

_(…YIKES!)_

I found myself looking down a cliff on the side of the road. Spontaneously remembering my stupid fear of heights, I felt my stomach twisting painfully.

My head flung back into its previous position like a switch had been turned. Quickly, I leaned forward until I couldn't see anything but the sky from the window anymore. I probably looked stupid, like someone cowering under a table, but that was still better than suddenly getting some kind of nervous fit just because I didn't feel comfortable on this road. I knew perfectly well what I could be like when that little phobia of mine kicked in – in fact, I couldn't even ride the Ferris wheel without turning hysterical – and I really preferred to avoid showing that embarrassing side of me to anyone. Good thing the Detective was looking at the street and not at me.

"So… Did you give Maggey the Lunchbox?" he asked me just a moment later.

"Eh…"

Somewhere in the back of my head I faintly remembered the fate of the sausages, which had found their way to their rightful owner's hands, out of them again, and were then buried under a giant heap of sugar, never to see the light of day again.

All remaining parts of my mind, however, were busy processing the disturbing idea of what might happen if the steering wheel of this car now suddenly decided to just stop working. Or the breaks. Or the motor.

"Y…Yes. I gave them to… her…" I answered the Detective. Because it was true. And because I didn't want to upset him. And because I didn't exactly feel like talking, given that the main thought in my head right now was how many possible, painful ways you can die when falling off that cliff to our right. And being in a car added "burst into flames" to the list. Oh joy.

"Great!" Gumshoe had somehow managed to stay oblivious to my stuttering, my paleness and the way I was cowering on my seat. He continued talking to me like nothing special was going on. "Thanks a bunch, Pal! And how did she like them?"

"Eh… She called them… the most delicious thing in the world… I think…"

"Yes! I knew she'd love them!"

I couldn't see Gumshoe's face, since I was staring at my knees in the hope to avoid seeing even a single pebble of the cliff that way, but I imagined him grinning over both ears when he said this.

"Maggey may not look like it, but she's a real big fan of sausages, you know! That's why I always bring a box of weenies from the lunch lady down at the prosecutor's office when I drop by to see her!"

"That's… great…" I didn't really want to think about food right now. Not one bit, actually. "…just wonderful…"

"Huh?"

Seemed like Gumshoe was finally catching up with what was going on. I had the feeling like he was peeking at me at the very least. "Mr. Wright… are you not feeling well?"

"P-Please, just keep looking at the street, alright?" I told him, since I was everything but comfortable with the idea that the driver of this ride of doom was probably not watching where he was actually going.

…'Ride of Doom'… great, my overstatements were getting worse. I had to calm down again, quickly.

"…Should we stop for a sec?" Gumshoe asked me. My palm pressed to my forehead, attempting to keep it somewhat upward, I peeked over at him, avoiding a glance out of the windows at all coast. We were already late as it was; making a stop now was absolutely out of the question if I wanted to talk to Maya.

"N-No…It's alright," I told Gumshoe. "Please, Detective… just look at the street. _Please look at the street._"

The emphasis on that last part came from the fact that his eyes ended up being the first thing I saw when I turned my head, telling me that, no, I wasn't mistaken when I suspected that he was observing me.

"Oh! Sorry, 'scuse me, Pal!"

"Argh…" I tried to lean back and relax, wondering why I only now realized what the road to Kurain actually was like when something occurred to me. "… A tunnel…"

Gumshoe turned his head again, staring at me with big eyes:

"H-Hey! Hang in there, Pal, and whatever happens, don't go into the li-"

"A _train_-tunnel." I quickly corrected. "The regional express reaches Kurain through a rather complicated tunnel system… I never quite paid attention to that before, but that's probably why the driving time differs that much – _Look at the street, Detective, please, for Heaven's sake._"

Gumshoe's head went back into the position it was supposed to be, relieving me a great deal. I sighed. At least I had now found a sound reason _not _to get a Driver's license. Good. That saved me money, time, and lots and lots of practice. Plus, walking and going by bike were the much healthier variants anyway.

Trying to get my arm to stop shaking like a cup of jell-o, I managed to pay my watch a look. Barely twenty five minutes had passed yet. This left more than an hour of driving time. I decided that I should probably try to just take a nap. That way, I'd not only get some rest, I'd also be unable to be frightened of the height while asleep. I closed my eyes and leaned back, and tried to calmly lay my hands down on the armrests.

_(Alright…Forget the cliff… Relax… Sleep…) _I took a deep breath. _(Sleep… Sleep…Sleep… Sleep…)_

A few seconds then passed with me everything but asleep. In fact, my eyelids were hurting because I was pressing them together with so much force.

(_Sleep…Sleep…Sleep_…_This is not going to work, is it? ...)_

'Just taking a nap' suddenly seemed to have become an impossibly hard task. My mind was so full of all kinds of different thoughts that just clearing it of them proved to be a whole lot more difficult than it should have been. And so I not only stayed awake –albeit with closed eyes – but also nervous and tired.

_(Uhf…OK…I never thought I'd ever be that desperate, but…) _

With a quiet sigh, I mentally started picturing something: A fence in the middle of the meadows. Yes, I think it's obvious where this is going.

_(One sheep. Two sheep. Three sheep… Four Sheep… Five Sheep…)_

I thought 'sheep' but what I actually 'saw' in my mind resembled formless, moving heaps of cotton more than it resembled any kind of animal. Still, the monotonous counting soon did its work. I started to drift off.

As the sounds of the car's motor got pushed more and more into the background, until I almost didn't hear them at all anymore, my formless cotton heaps slowly broke free of my control and started taking on form… One of them especially caught my attention. It grew taller and leaner and…

* * *

"_3pm, alright, Nick?"_

_Maya grinned, after she had crossed the fence. _

_My head turned. I didn't even dare to look her in the eyes. I was too ashamed._

"_I'm not quite sure if I can make it in time, actually…"_

"_No, no, no, that's not what you say, Nick!" _

_Dropping her grin Maya stepped up towards me:_

"_When I say 'Alright, Nick?', you're supposed to reply: 'I'll be there, Maya!' I mean… You'll come, won't you? Won't you?"_

_There was something begging in the way Maya looked at me. Something that caused me to regret what I had just said. I turned my head back towards her and looked at her face. And I tried to smile._

"_A-Alright..." I tried to give her my most convincing smile. But I think I failed. "I'll be there, Maya. At 'that' spot, alright? "_

"_Yes exactly!" She nodded happily. "I knew you wouldn't forget!"_

"_O-Of course not!" I replied._

_(I never would let you down, Maya…but… I just wish I knew where 'that' spot actually is…)_

"_No problem! I'll see you there then, alright?"_

"_Hee Hee! Alright!"_

"_He is lying, Mystic Maya."_

_I turned to the side._

"_Pearls…?"_

_There she was. Staring at me._

"_You are lying again, Mr. Nick." She said. Her eyes were almost expressionless. "Mr. Nick, why are you lying? Why don't you just tell them that you don't know?"_

"_Because…"_

_I looked down at Pearls and tried to explain._

"_Well… Well, you see… Sometimes there are situations where you can't just say something, no matter if it's the truth or not."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because… bad things would happen."_

"_Are you afraid of those things?"_

"_Well… eh...Look, if I just told everyone what's going on, they probably wouldn't believe me and …"_

"_Is it because you are a coward?"_

_I jerked._

"_A coward?"_

_

* * *

_

**BAWAM.**

"WOAH!"

Hadn't it been for my seatbelt, I would have jumped straight through the ceiling now. The sudden movement had literally _catapulted_ me back to reality.

"W-What was that?" I shouted out in shock, when I was still trying to regain my orientation.

"Sorry, Pal!" I heard Gumshoe reply shamefully. "There was a pot-hole… Didn't see it in time. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes…" I was still pretty startled. "I think…"

Checking on my seat belt, as well as the seat itself and even the door next to me – I wanted to make sure that nothing had taken damage – I found everything to be just the way it was supposed to and already wanted to sigh in relief, when an unexpected sound reached my ears.

"_Ow_…."

_(…Huh?)_

Turning around, I took a look behind me. What I found were my suitcase, which I had stored there, and nothing else. Of course, there was nobody on the backseat, but…

_(That just now… Was that a person…?)_

As I was still eyeing the seats behind me, I heard the Detective's voice again.

"Eh… What are you searching for, Pal? Did you lose something?"

I turned towards Gumshoe. "Detective, did you hear that just now?"

"'That'?"

"That sound just now. It sounded like a… voice." I explained.

The Detective shrugged. "Well, I heard nothing… You sure you didn't just imagine it?"

_(Well, usually when somebody says that, one can be sure that they, in fact, did not 'just imagine' it…)_

"There… couldn't be anyone in the trunk, could there?" I asked just to make sure. Gumshoe, however, shook his head decidedly: "No way, Pal! It's half loaded with baggage and I only opened it once when I picked the car up from the garage! If anybody was inside there, they would have had to sneak past me before I locked it up again!"

"Hm..."

_(Maybe it's unlikely… Still…)_

I decided to remind myself to ask the Detective to open the trunk once we arrived, just to be sure. Then I closed my eyes again and tried to resume my nap. I didn't get too far, however, since Gumshoe started talking to me again before I could even picture the first sheep. "…Mr. Wright?"

"Hm?" I replied, too lazy to open my mouth.

There was a short pause, before the next part of Gumshoe's speech followed.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Uhm… Sure. Go ahead."

And another pause. Also, Gumshoe was actually concentrating on the street now rather than looking at me. I had the feeling that he was really hesitant about saying whatever he was trying to say now.

"Today in court… I heard some bailiffs talkin' about something… Is it true that you were going to let Mr. Edgeworth win?"

I jerked, startled. That question... of all the questions he could have asked…

_(The bailiffs must have overheard us in the recess! Argh…)_

"Eh…"

My nervousness was back big time. And it hadn't even remotely anything to do with our altitude anymore…

_(What am I supposed to answer now? Answering 'Yes' would probably make me seem suspicious. I… I really don't want to play the role of that 'evil' me, just for the sake of avoiding this… But on the other hand, Edgeworth didn't believe me when I tried to explain it to him and neither did Mia… Argh… Playing the bad guy or acting normal and win myself a free ticket for the local asylum. The latter doesn't sound too inviting... Maybe I really should just deny it and keep the status quo up. There can't be any harm in doing that-)_

"_Mr. Nick, are you a coward?"_

I twitched. For a moment… I had seen that image from my dream just now again. Pearl in the meadow… accusing me of lying…

A coward… Was it really cowardly to think that way? To keep what is going on to myself because nobody would believe me anyway…

Gumshoe addressed me before I could follow that thought further.

"Mr. Wright?"

"Eh-" I shook my head in order to focus again. "Well… I…"

In a time span of ten seconds, I quickly ran through my two options again and finally made a choice.

_(Actually… What am I afraid of? It's just Gumshoe. It's not like he's going to ponder too much about it anyway. And I'm sure that he won't figure out much if I just tell him that I'm not planning on getting Lana declared guilty…)_

This was when I finally took a breath and nodded.

"Yes…It's true. I… decided that I won't go for a guilty verdict for Ms. Skye."

"F-For real, Pal?" Despite asking the question, Gumshoe apparently hadn't expected this kind of answer. "But… why? That's just not like… like…"

_(I guess he's trying to say that this is not 'like me'.)_

"Why didn't you just refuse to prosecute the case then?"

I turned towards the detective and explained as calmly as possible. "It's a murder case. This kind of case isn't just dropped because of a reluctant Prosecutor. Some other Prosecutor would have taken it instead."

"But… Why are you so convinced that she didn't do it anyway, Pal? I mean, we have evidence… and… stuff!" Gumshoe didn't seem to quite believe what he heard me say. "I never heard of you dropping or screwing over a case on purpose before! Is that because she's your-"

"This has nothing to do with Lana being my mentor or anything along that line." I told Gumshoe. "It's because she is innocent. Trust me, there can be a hundred pieces of so-called 'evidence' against her, I know enough about Lana and Ema Skye to tell that they would _never _harm each other. Declaring Lana guilty of Ema's murder would mean punishing an innocent woman for a crime she wouldn't even have been capable of committing. Lana has already suffered enough in this case. And, more importantly… If Lana didn't do it, this means that there _has _to be a different culprit."

I balled my hands into fists.

"And we can't let the true murderer walk away unscathed. At no cost. I won't allow that."

I saw that Gumshoe was resisting the urge to let his eyes off the street and look at me instead. He looked to be quite impressed.

"Wooow… For a moment there, you sounded a little bit like Mr. Edgeworth, Pal!"

"Really?" Interested, I turned my head a bit. The tension in my body that had built up when I had been talking was now lessening again. Meanwhile, Gumshoe nodded.

"Yes! Well, not all of it, actually. But some of it really sounded like stuff he'd say…"

"Hm…" I turned my head back forward and mumbled to myself. "Not _too _surprising, actually…"

_(This Edgeworth is a Defense Attorney, after all…)_

"So… it's true?"

"Hm?"

I looked over to Gumshoe once again, as he continued. "You know… That thing about you and Mr. Edgeworth being old friends…" He seemed puzzled. "I was really surprised when he mentioned this during the trial."

"We were in the same class for a year when we were in grade school." I explained with a nod. "But… I don't really remember what happened after that."

_(Understatement of the year.)_

"I would never have guessed, Pal." Gumshoe told me. "I mean, I knew that your girlfriends were twins, but that the two of you also have known each other for so long… Wow, it's a small world after all, isn't it?"

"Yes… I guess so." _(That, or the Fey Clan is magnetically attracting lawyers.) _"And to be honest…" I watched a pair of plush dices which were dangling from the rear view mirror alongside a tiny Blue Badger bounce up and down from the uneven movement of the car. "…I'm glad that Edgeworth is on the case. If there's anyone who can get Lana off the hook without a miracle, it's him."

"So… That's why you asked me to help him with his investigations?"

"Getting their hands on the needed evidence can be incredibly difficult for a Defense Attorney since they are usually not allowed on the crime scene." I explained. Nobody knew that better than me. "I figured that the best way to solve this case as quickly as possibly was to give Edgeworth everything he'd need right away... And I think that worked out quite well, didn't it?"

"Well, Mr. Edgeworth really _did _drop some rather big bombs today." Gumshoe chuckled nervously. "A setup crime scene… a fake suicide note… Wow, I would never have guessed that."

_(Of course you wouldn't. If you had, Lana wouldn't have ended up being the defendant...Ah, I better keep that one to myself.)_

"And then there's that thing about you and that singer secretly being a couple…"

My alarm bells went off.

"_W-We're not a couple!"_ I shouted quickly. "I mean, she's not… we're not… That's all a huge misunderstanding!"

"Huh?" Gumshoe obviously didn't buy it. "And that love letter?"

"That's not a love letter! That's just a-" I attempted to end the sentence in my mind, in order to find the most believable way to finish it, but no ending I could come up with sounded believable. Gumshoe was right, that color just _screamed _'Love Letter'.

_(Maya, what were you thinking?)_

"It's a- a… a random letter that just… happened to be… pink…Yeah…"

"Are you sure, Pal?" He still didn't take my argument very seriously. "I mean… I never saw anyone just send a letter in a pink envelope for no reason before…"

"…"

_(And this, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what happens when you try to apply common sense to Maya's logic. …Except if she actually intended that letter to be…. Uh… No! Abort thought! ABORT THOUGHT!)_

The moment this whole implication turned out to be true, I would just do like the first PC I ever handled and suddenly shut down, accompanied by a weird, blue screen telling everyone that I '_encountered a problem_'. A _massive _problem. That was all just too much.

"But, in the end, I guess Mr. Edgeworth was a bit harsh on the girl…" Gumshoe voiced his opinion hesitantly. "I mean, he really didn't show much mercy when she kept denying everything..."

"He overdid it. A lot." I agreed and closed my eyes, trying not to remember how horrible Maya had looked over there in the witness stand. Edgeworth had clearly crossed the line between 'pressure' and 'torture' back there.

"But he had a reason, I guess…if Maya really was there that day, it would mean that we _need_ to hear her testimony of what she observed as well. We can't just let her refuse to say anything. Since most of the evidence is apparently fake, testimonies is all we have to get to the bottom of this case. Plus, I barely investigated when we first found the body and missed almost all of the contradictions in the evidence on the evening of the crime. That was stupid and caused quite a lot of problems… Hadn't it been for Edgeworth, this trial would be over now and Lana sentenced to death…"

I made a short pause. There was something else I realized as I talked about all of this. Something that hadn't really occurred to me before for some reason.

"And…Edgeworth would have never been able to make that much progress, hadn't _you_ given him access to the crime scene and the results of the forensic investigations…" I turned towards Gumshoe again. "…that wouldn't have been possible if you had refused to help him. Most of all, we wouldn't have gotten that list of the fingerprints. And that thing has proven itself to be a lot more useful than I would have thought. …Thank you, Detective."

He turned his head away.

"Well… I just did my job…"

"No, that's not true. You weren't supposed to give out information just like that. Not to the Defense Attorney. You could have been fired and you still did it." I got an idea. A slightly weird-sounding one… But I decided to just voice it regardless. "So…How about if I ...raise your salary?"

_(Wow… to think that I can actually do that…) _I thought to myself, watching how the Detective jerked up in surprise at the sound of the word 'raise'. _(But if I really can do that… I probably should. He deserves it. Sure, he may not be the brightest bulb in the house, but he's really trying to do his best. And all those instant noodles can't be healthy…)_

"…" Gumshoe seemed a little embarrassed. After a few awkward head movements, he finally just focused on the street and sighed. "Thanks…but I can't accept that, Mr. Wright."

"What?"

To say that his answer 'struck me as a surprise' would be like saying that a glacier is 'a little cold'. I didn't understand it. For years, the Detective hadn't been talking about much else than his meager income and now… this?

"To be honest, Pal…" He continued as I tried to wrap my mind around his response. "…I would have helped Mr. Edgeworth even if you hadn't asked me to."

"Heh?"

Gumshoe bended a bit, like he was afraid of getting scolded by me any second. Of course, this scolding never came. So he finally got around to continue talking.

"I… I've been helping Mr. Edgeworth all the time, Pal. Ever since I've first been promoted to Detective…"

"But…" This didn't match up. "Why did Edgeworth even know then that I allowed him on the crime scene when we spoke about it the next morning then?"

"I told him about it when I gave him your keycard." Gumshoe shook his head. "He thought that I had taken it without your permission and wanted me to return it. That's when I explained to him what you told me to do."

"I-I see…"

Now that I thought about it… That made sense, actually. Why Gumshoe referred to Edgeworth as 'Sir'… Why he was so apologetic during his testimony… Why he seemed to know so much about him and his personality...

"Mr. Edgeworth…" Gumshoe started talking again. "…I owe him. Big time."

"Hm?"

The Detective had rarely ever sounded as serious as he sounded right now. "He saved my life, Pal. Twice, actually."

"Twice?" My ears perked and I listened interested, as he started explaining.

"The first time was when I had barely been a Detective for a few days. There was a rather big case and I was assigned to guard the Defendant Lobby."

"What happened?"

"The Defendant and a Prosecutor were killed while I was on duty, Pal." The memory alone apparently made him feel rather disheartened, as his body-language clearly showed. "First they thought they had somehow killed each other, but… You know Ms. Von Karma, Pal? She somehow ended up believing that it was me instead and persuaded everybody else of it…"

"You mean… Franziska von Karma? The same one as in today's trial?" I asked surprised. "So… she prosecuted against you back then?"

"No, no, of course not… She didn't have her badge back then. She was thirteen, you know."

"Oh."

_(Well, that's Franziska von Karma for you. Thirteen and no badge, yet already trying to do the grown up's work...I wonder… Did she already have her whip back then?)_

"…Her _father_ was prosecuting…"

"M-Manfred von Karma?"

I stared at Gumshoe like he was running around with a sign saying '_I survived a T-Rex attack'_. I couldn't help but gulp, since I knew that Gumshoe's emphasis on the word 'father' had been more than justified.

"I really thought I was done for, Pal." He almost literally shrunk away, making me afraid that he might soon be unable to look across the cockpit. "The prosecution was awfully solid… There was more evidence against me in that trial than I could count. It seriously made me wanna weep."

"And the Defense Attorney…?" I asked carefully.

"Gregory Edgeworth. Mr. Edgeworth's father." Gumshoe said, confirming my suspicion.

_(Of course… if Franziska was thirteen, Edgeworth couldn't possibly already have passed the bar by then… Well, OK, it _is_ possible, but unlikely…especially for a normal Defense Attorney. So it was Gregory Edgeworth VS. Manfred von Karma…)_

"I was really lucky that someone like him picked up my case… But even then, things still looked dire." Gumshoe continued his story. "They would have given me the death sentence, Pal, hadn't it been for that little girl… eh… what was her name again… Kathy… Kaitlin… something like that…"

"…_Hmpf!_…"

_(Huh?)_

I turned around again. There was that voice again. There was one! I was certain! But no matter how hard I looked, there was nobody on the back seat or on the floor.

_(The trunk! There has to be someone in the trunk!)_

"…Anyway, she was the daughter of one of the victims, I think. Barged in and demanded to testify for me before the judge could hand down the verdict."

I turned my attention back to Gumshoe. "And… Gregory Edgeworth was able to use her testimony to turn the case around?" I guessed.

Gumshoe laughed. "Not Gregory Edgeworth, Pal! _Miles_ Edgeworth."

"Huh?"

"I told you that I owe _him, _didn't I?" There was a grin on Gumshoe's face all of a sudden. "He stood beside his father during the trial. For practice, I think. While his dad was still in the dark, Mr. Edgeworth had already figured out what happened and exposed the real killer right where she sat. That's how they got me off the hook! …And that all thanks to a half-eaten Swiss Roll, Pal!"

A lot more upbeat once again, probably because he was remembering the victory-celebration now, Gumshoe chuckled. I nodded to show that I had understood what he told me.

_(I don't quite get the part about the Swiss Roll, but, OK…)_

"That was Manfred von Karma's first loss ever… I'm actually quite surprised you didn't know about it, Pal!"

"Eh… Well, I didn't know you and Edgeworth were involved! Ehe…" I talked myself out of it. "Edgeworth's father must have been quite proud of him that day."

Gumshoe confirmed this for me right away. "Oh, he was, Pal, he was! Of course, he never bragged with his son or something… but, believe me, there were quite a lot of times where it was obvious that he was tempted to do so!"

"I can imagine that…" I agreed, scratching my chin. "I guess everyone would want to brag with a son like that. But there's something I still don't understand… If you were on trial for murder once, how come you're still a Detective? I've heard of Policemen being demoted because of much less severe incidences…"

"That's all thanks to Detective Fey, Pal!"

_(Mia…)_

There was a certain sense of awe on Gumshoe's face as he went on to explain. "That woman was just amazing! From her first day as a Detective onwards, she always kept an eye on everything and made sure that there's no unfair treatment in the force."

"She had that much power as a Detective?" I asked surprised.

"Well, she always had solid arguments and some good connections to a few higher ups… But I guess she didn't really have influence on everything in the end. It was a little bit of a trial and error thing whether her requests regarding the treatment of the other members of the force actually got through or not. But I heard that quite a few higher ups and even prosecutors had all agreed to keep me on the force back then. I guess she persuaded them that firing innocent bystanders wasn't how the police should deal with their problems, you know?... Too bad she couldn't do the same for Maggey later…"

"Maggey was on trial for murder too… I guess?" I asked hesitantly, just to make sure that this was correct. Gumshoe nodded. "And Ms. Fey really tried her best to keep the chief from firing her. But poor Maggey already had quite a few marks on her record for losing files, coming too late, crossing red traffic lights… the works, you know. I think those guys were actually _glad _to find a reason to get rid of her. Not even Ms. Fey could help her there."

"I think it's amazing that she still tried…" I said, realizing that nothing about Mia had changed, except her occupation. "I guess everyone on the force really looked up to her, right?"

"Of course we did, Pal! She was everyone's idol! Ah…" The next thing he did was sigh. His face fell. "It's really horrible what happened to her… Detective Fey, I mean. I still can't quite believe that she actually did that…"

"…"

I nervously turned away. Of course she didn't do it. _Of course… _If there just was a way I could get her out of this mess again. Then I remembered something. Edgeworth had told me that Gumshoe was the Detective who was in charge of the investigations in Mia's case, right? That means all the evidence 'I' used against her in this trial was found by him…

Gumshoe went on.

"Now that I think about it, you seemed really nervous before the trial, Pal. Well, prosecuting against the Detective who had handled more than half of your cases for years… that must have been hard."

"…!"

This sentence hit me pretty severely.

_(Mia… Mia was the one who investigated in the majority of 'my' cases?) _I realized. _(So… 'I' worked together with her?)_

My first thought was how incredibly true Gumshoe's 'small world' statement from before was.

My second thought was… anger. Incredible anger…

_(How… How could I… How could __**he**__ do that?) _

I pressed my hands to my lap with enough force to hurt. Not that I would have cared about that at the moment.

_(So he knew her… He had worked alongside her! He knew exactly what kind of a woman she was! And still, he did that to her? What… What…)_

"What happened?" I said out aloud accidentally. I shook my head. "What, what? How could he… I…Why… Mia…"

"It was a huge shock for us all, Pal." Gumshoe said, obviously misinterpreting my out-of-context rambling. "I knew that Ms. Fey would do a lot to help others, especially her friends, but that she'd go that far…"

I listened up.

"Help…?"

"And I wouldn't have thought that the District Chief of Police would turn out to be such a…" The detective shivered. "Well, I always knew that he was kind of scary, but not like _that, _Pal. That will probably sound horrible if I say it now, but I'm actually kinda glad that he's gone, now that we all know what he was doing all this time…"

_(Mia… a friend of hers… The District Chief…)_

It clicked in my head and I finally understood what that case had been about. What Mia had really been accused of…

"Damon Gant…" I whispered to myself in realization.

_(The victim of that attempted murder… that was Damon Gant!)_

That's what Mia and Dahlia were being accused of? Poisoning Damon Gant to save Lana?

Of course, that's how it had to be. That's what made sense. Mia had mentioned that Lana finally had no reason to hide her personality no longer. And what Edgeworth alluded to when he mentioned something 'I' uncovered during the trial a few days ago... That must have been SL-9.

It made sense.

It confused me.

Good thing I was already sitting. Otherwise I might have felt insecure on my feet right now.

_(So… The Prosecution's claims must have basically been like this: Mia figured out about SL-9 and wanted to restore Lana to how she used to be, so she made Dahlia her accomplice and tried to kill Gant… It's still a stupid claim when you know enough about Mia, but at least I now know __**what **__stupid claim the prosecution in this case was built upon…)_

I thought a bit more about this.

_(And now, Ema was found dead just a few days later… Lana, Ema and Damon Gant… Three important figures in SL-9. That __**can't **__be a coincidence! There has to be some kind of connection between the cases! But how do they connect? And where do I come in…? What is my… this other guy's role in this?)_

When I was still wondering where all the loose strings might meet, Gumshoe had already resumed talking.

"Detective Fey, Ms. Skye, Ema, District Chief Gant… Even Mr. Edgeworth's secretary and girlfriend… Lots of familiar faces that I've gotten used to seeing at work are now gone, you know?" The Detective sighed disheartened. "It's… scary, Pal. I almost feel like I could be next. Like I could be murdered… or end up on trial a third time…"

I turned my head toward him again. "A third time…?"

"Well, I told you, didn't I, Pal? Mr. Edgeworth saved me _twice_!" Gumshoe replied.

_(Oh, right… He said that.)_

"So you really don't remember that either." Gumshoe chuckled. "Mr. Wright, that was the one case you couldn't prosecute!"

I listened up once again.

" 'Couldn't'…?"

"You had a broken leg, remember?"

"O-Oh… Yes… Of course…"

_(So there was a case involving both Edgeworth and Gumshoe, which this guy couldn't prosecute because he got injured prior to it…)_

I really started to wish I had a notepad on hand. An incredible amount of information was coming up in this conversation… I was afraid I wouldn't be able to memorize all of it. All those details about Gumshoe, Edgeworth, Mia, Lana…

"Mr. Edgeworth was really disappointed that you didn't show up back then, Pal!" Gumshoe laughed "He frowned when he saw the replacement prosecutor… If eyes could kill, it would have looked dire in even more ways for Mr. Payne! Hehehe…"

"Edgeworth was really that _eager _to face off against me in court?" I asked a little surprised and Gumshoe shrugged.

"Well, it would have been your first time going up against each other. I didn't understand why that was so special for him back then either… But you were old friends all along, so I guess it makes sense."

_(Yeah, probably… It just feels weird for me because the Edgeworth I remember had avoided me for years… And __**I **__had been the one trying to finally get a chance to meet him in court.)_

Simplifying the situation a lot, one could say that our roles were 'switched', but it wasn't really that easy. Because Edgeworth just wasn't me. Defense Attorney or not, Edgeworth was Edgeworth at the core and would always be it. He thought differently than me, he expressed himself differently than me… It was impossible to just 'switch' us. That's not how people work. A personality is more complex than that…

…I was starting to wonder about _my _personality. Had I really been able to develop into such a horrible person as everyone claimed? Really?

"Mr. Edgeworth is really something special. He's takes after his father alright… Did you have any Lawyers in your family, Mr. Wright?"

I shook my head: "Nope. None. I'm the first and only, as far as I know."

_(My parents were surprised when I went up to them and told them that I was going to study law. Now that I think about it… I guess they didn't think I could do it. Maybe I didn't think I could do it myself either. And yet, here I am…)_

Just a second ago, I had been thinking about unlikely personality changes… But only now did I realize how much my personality actually _had _changed over the years. That little boy back in grade school… if I thought about it now, I barely couldn't even recognize him as myself anymore. And the young man back in university, who knew no shame and had way more naivety than necessary… That wasn't me anymore either.

Maybe my personality really _could _change that easily. And that thought... Frightened me. Could I have really just turned out like… that? A ruthless jerk who doesn't care about anyone's wellbeing?

And… if I were to change again…how would my personality turn out? Would the new 'me' be a 'me' the current 'me' would approve of? I hated the possibility that the answer to this question could be 'no'…

Thankfully, Gumshoe continued talking and gave me a reason to stop pursuing this scary train of thought.

"Mr. Edgeworth and his father really made an awesome team. There was absolutely no detail that went past them, I tell you, Pal!"

I was so glad that this topic had nothing to do with me whatsoever.

"Mr. Edgeworth is a quick and strategic thinker. If his father is anywhere close to his level, I pity every Prosecutor who had to go up against the two of them."

_(Facing off against two Edgeworths at once… Yeah, that person is definitely screwed.) _

"It's true! Not even Mr. Von Karma stood a chance against the two of them together, Pal! I think calling that duo 'invincible' wouldn't be too far off the mark. Too bad that that's over…"

Only once the sentence had somewhat sunk in, I understood what it actually meant. Not to mention that I _finally _realized that Gumshoe had been talking in _past tense. _I jerked up.

"W-Wait! What do you mean by 'over'?"

**BAWAM.**

Pot Holes.

They are always conveniently placed in inconvenient places you don't need them. Like here, exactly at that part of the conversation. Gumshoe had no time to reply to my question. He was busy _saving us _by regaining control over the car, which had started going anywhere but the direction he wanted it to go. Meanwhile, I remembered that we were driving along a – oh yes – cliff and felt how every muscle I had cramped and hurt, especially in my stomach region and how I started to feel sick and sicker. I was about to scream something – I'm not quite sure what it was, although it's pretty likely that it would have been the word 'Objection' – when my attention was caught by something else.

"_KYAAAA!"_

That voice again. _That voice. _

_(It's a girl!) _I realized. _(I'm not imagining that! There's a girl in this car! We have a stowaway!)_

Gumshoe finally just hit the breaks with all his force. I know enough about driving to know that this would usually only make things worse, but, for some miraculous reason, it worked. The car finally came to a halt on the middle on the road. And Gumshoe and I, Gumshoe especially, sat in our seats, wet from our sweat, breathing heavily.

"This street… Horrible… Please… Never again… Pal… OK?" He stuttered slowly, leaning against the cockpit in exhaustion. I would have agreed with a loud 'Yes!', hadn't I been preoccupied with something else. Wordless, I removed my seatbelt, opened the door to my right and left the car.

"Hm?" Gumshoe looked up to me. "Mr. Wright?"

"The key." I said.

"…Hm?"

"I need the key for the trunk, please." I told him.

Gumshoe looked quite puzzled.

"But your suitcase is on the backseat, isn't it?

"That's not it. You heard that voice just now too, didn't you?" I pulled down my eyebrows, just to make sure he wouldn't think that I was kidding. "Detective, there _is_ someone in the trunk. And I'm going to get that someone _out of there._"

Wordless, but apparently understanding – I suspected that he had actually heard it too, but discarded it as his imagination – the Detective reached to the steering wheel and pulled the car's keys off their place, handing them to me. I took them, nodded, and left for the backside of the vehicle. Gumshoe quickly unfastened his own seatbelt and followed me. The curiosity on his face was pretty obvious. I inserted the key into the lock of the trunk as soon as it was in reach. It took me a few tries until it actually spun around. Then, finally, with a quiet 'click', the trunk door unlocked. I pulled it up and…

And what I saw… was _pink_.

Well, pink and black. Or, rather 'she' was pink and black, because that's what it was: A she.

_(What _is_ it with the pink today? -No, No, No, much more important: __**Who**__ is that?)_

It was a girl, apparently not even Maya's age, black hair in a ponytail, wearing a pink shirt, a black skirt and scarf and boots of the same color. Also, she had a huge, golden hairstick in the shape of a key.

I had seen that scarf somewhere before. That's what I seemed to recall, but that was about it. It was the only thing about that girl that seemed familiar to me in any way. Otherwise, I was entirely sure that I had never met her before.

Rolled up in the trunk like a sleeping kitten, she stared up at me, open mouthed. Her eyes were wide open, almost making up a quarter of her face at that, and she blinked a few times like she was expecting me to tap her and say 'You're it!' any second.

Meanwhile. Gumshoe beside me was just as speechless as that girl and I. Not surprising, considering that he had actually been the one who had tried to ensure me that, no, there is in fact _nobody _in the trunk. He couldn't have been much more wrong about this.

The three of us kept staring at each other, word- and move-less, until one of us finally snapped out of it and said something. For the record, that was me.

"Just… Who are you?" I asked.

"Eh…Eh… Eh…" She uttered at me for a reply.

_(Translation to English: 'This didn't go as planned.')_

The girl remained 'Eh'-ing for a few more moments, before she finally closed her mouth. And then, she quickly sat up from her curled position. And then she jumped out of the car. Without bumping her head anywhere, mind you. And then, she landed on my toes. It was painful.

_(YARGH!)_

I stumbled back three steps and jumped on one foot a few times, as the girl started posing before us:

"Well…eh…Ahem!"

Whatever this girl was going to do now, she apparently wanted our attention for it.

_(She looks like she was going to hold a spee-)_

"**Even in the depths of night, when no other bird dares to take flight…"**

_(Never mind.)_

"…**one alone soars to shine the light of righteousness on the world's blight! And that one is me! For I am…"**

_(A girl with a fetish for poems?)_

The girl took a deep, _deep _breath, as if to make her finish especially epic.

"…Totally out of here! See ya!"

Or not.

Gumshoe and I just watched as the girl sprinted off down the road while we were still stunned from an amazingly… weird performance. I was actually surprised that she didn't try to jump off that cliff and fly after the speech she just gave.

And so, leaving a cloud of dust behind her, she disappeared around the next turn, not to be seen again. Apparently, she was planning to run all the way back to LA. I knew that it was possible… But I wouldn't recommend it to anybody.

So much for the 'bird of righteousness', or whatever she called herself.

Well, in conclusion, we had been stalked. By a high school-ninja-girl with keys in her hair who calls herself a 'bird' for some reason, likes being locked in a cramped trunk for hours, and gives a great, amazing speech, only to run off without any real introduction. Oh, not to mention that she epically failed at stealth with her pink shirt and hairdo. That 'ponytail' looked anything but normal. Trying to sneak around in that attire is _worse _than trying to sneak around in Maya's attire. And that's saying something. Actually that's saying a _lot_.

"What. Was. That." Were my first words upon regaining my ability to speak, with this exact intonation.

"Dunno…" Gumshoe answered me on half his usual volume. "…'Weird', maybe?"

_('Pointless' is probably the better word…) _I thought to myself. _(A singing reptile would have made more sense than that…)_

As if my poor brain didn't already have enough stuff to comprehend, now this just had to come out of the blue… No, I was definitely not trying to make sense out of what just happened. Not today. Sorry, there were just no more unoccupied spots left in the 'Mess with Phoenix's perception of reality'-Festival.

I put my hands to my face and sighed. "Please, let's just drive on. And forget that this ever happened."

Gumshoe was still staring at the corner around which that girl had just made her exit when he slowly nodded and mumbled.

"… Agreed, Pal…"

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

_*)?  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

* * *

_**THE BIG LIPPED KAY FARADAY MOMENT! :-D**_

_Well, not really, actually. I mean, she does have some bearing on the plot… I think. It's just that I wrote this scene and realized how incredibly weird her sudden appearance was, when they had just been talking about epic Defence Attorneys, Brutal Murderers and the likes a second ago._

_Oh, some people in the previous chapter didn't get what the white cats in the Maid Café were about. Well, two words: Hello Kitty. _

_I guess that should explain everything. _

_Back to this chapter: _

_So, yes, so information about Alt!Edgeworth, Alt!Gumshoe and Alt!Mia. Better give it out now than trying to cram it in somewhere else latter._

_Also, we have yet another **DUM DUM DUM **creepy dream._

_There's Pearly, there's flowers. Starting to notice a patter in my concept of 'creepy'? Well, we can probably attribute me finding flowers to be creepy to good ol' Dahlia… -_-; Dunno why I find little, cute girls that creepy… maybe because of 'Higurashi no **na**ku koro ni' or something…_

_These dreams even have their own BGM now. Yes, just to cement the fact that I have really NO life whatsoever, I actually composed a BGM for those dreams. Once I uploaded the chapter on Court-Records dot net, the music will be available in the thread there. I will add a link to it in the courtrecord. It turned out pretty decent in my opinion. And if you've been following the (forum-version) of the court-record closely, you might even notice that the melody is… familiar. _

_I always found it funny how every single Protagonist in Ace Attorney is afraid of heights… Even Edgeworth, who already has, like, a dozen other phobias to boot. (Sheesh, give the guy a break, Capcom!) I laughed loudly when Trucy told Apollo of Phoenix' Ferris Wheel Freakout in case 4-3. So I just had to put that in. _

_Finally, some AAI. Needed to explain what exactly Bratsworth's absence from the investigations in the second KG-8 changed. Although this moment probably made it painfully obvious who's hiding in the trunk…_

_Painting Mia as awesome because Mia **is **awesome. There is no denying this fact. If one could be prosecuted for awesomeness, Mia would have been trouble because of **that **in 1-2, not Bluecorp, I swear. _

_Guys, 125 review… You. Are. AWESOME. ^^_

_Since I need my daily dose of fanwork-reviews to normally function, you guys are literally keeping alive! Thank you! XD_

_Please, don't be shy to comment, whether it is praise, critisicm, a joke, a guess, or anything similar!^^ I'm always happy to hear opinions! I can only get better if I know what's fine and what I should work on. ^^_


	18. Hanami

**May 2nd, 3:05pm  
Kurain Village**

The remaining part of the trip progressed uneventful. We soon let the truly shabby part of the street behind us, after which everything went by a whole lot more smoothly. As for the horrendous cliff of horror right next to us, I found a way to distract myself from that one: Keeping myself busy with trying to figure out how to a) find Maya's meeting place b) approach her c) make her aware of what was going on with me.

I had decided that I was going to tell Maya about everything and that decision was final. I just couldn't keep that charade up any longer. It was driving me nuts. I needed my trusty, hyperactive assistant back; otherwise I wouldn't have a moment of peace. Which was ironic, since ruining moments of peace was pretty much Maya's specialty. But I didn't care much about logic at the moment anyway. I just didn't want to feel so… lonely anymore.

Not 'lonely' in the sense of being 'the only one around', of course. 'Lonely' in the sense of having nobody to talk to without having to think about it twice or trice. Every time I started talking, it felt stiff and preplanned. I wanted to be able to relax a bit again. Maybe even, I don't know, have a little bit of _fun. _

Of course, this was all wishful thinking. Chances were that Maya wouldn't just suddenly decide that we were BFFs and follow me around like I was used to it. And even if she did, who says that it'd be the same? This Maya was different from the one I had worked with in past years, no matter how similar they looked, talked and behaved. Still, I hoped that I'd at least finally be able to lead a normal conversation with her. And maybe, if I was lucky, that one moment would feel… 'normal'. Like everything had gone back to the way I was used to it. Like we were friends again.

If Maya wouldn't believe me, nobody would. She was my last and only hope.

_(The area around Kurain is quite huge,) _I realized while we were still driving. _(There are millions of places where Maya could be… There's no way I'm going to find her by just walking around and searching. And I'll be late anyway. I need some kind of hint…)_

'_You are looking at it the wrong way,' _Mia would have said. _'The question shouldn't be 'Where could Maya be.' but 'Why could the place where Maya wants to meet you be special for the two of you?'_

I could picture Mia before me, telling me exactly those words with her usual, calm smile on her lips.

_(Exactly, that's how I have to think about it.) _I nodded, _(Maya explicitly pointed out a 'special' place… So I have to come up with what kind of place could be so 'special'. Hm…)_

But this is where I encountered a problem: I knew nothing about this Maya. How was I supposed to know what is 'special' to both of 'us' if I didn't even know what kind of connection there was between her and the other Phoenix? So in the end, I stayed as clueless as I had been before.

"We're here!"

I perked up when I heard the Detective proclaiming this. A look out of the window and I saw that he was right: The distinctly Asian-looking buildings of Kurain village were passing by as we approached the small bus station near the Fey Manor. Kurain: where Spirit Mediums live, the Far East and its religions and culture are closer than anywhere else in America, and where cell phones have no reception.

Good. So I didn't have to turn off mine before meeting Maya. This saved time. Especially because I hadn't figured out where the 'Off'-button was yet anyway. For some stupid reason, it apparently wasn't the same as the 'On'-button.

Telling the Detective to wait for me, I thanked him, pressed a few bills of money into his hand –the more I waste of this other Phoenix' unrightfully earned wealth, the better – and, before Gumshoe could argue with me, left to find Maya.

Or her mother. Or one of her cousins. Even her aunt would have been alright with me at the moment.

I just needed _someone _to tell me where Maya was.

But the Fey Manor seemed to be empty since nobody came when I rung the bell. When I attempted to search at different places, I found not a living soul in the village, making me feel like I was wandering through an actual, literal ghost town. However, what I did stumble across on my way was a van with the Global Studios logo on it. I remembered what Kurain currently was: The shooting place for a children's movie.

_(Maybe everybody is off to watch a rehearsal somewhere outside the village?) _

This didn't seem too far-fetched, assuming that there were more Steel Samurai fangirls in that village, aside from Maya and Pearl. And if those young girls all dragged their mothers along to watch, this would explain why this place seemed even more deserted than usually right now.

I heard sounds that told me that they were apparently shooting a scene in the forest at the moment. This over-the-top yelling just couldn't stem from anything else than Sal Manella's scripts and Will Powers' acting. Several other screams filled the air as well. They were probably filming a battle scene.

_(I should probably go down there and ask somebody,) _I decided. _(Even if there's a huge chance that I'll be randomly attacked by MAYOI-fans again… For now it's more important that I find Maya before she comes to think that I forgot about her…or worse.)_

I ran down the road into the forest trying to make sure that I wouldn't get out of breath by going at fairly high, but constant, speed. I still needed the air in my lungs to talk to Maya once I found her. Following the sounds of the rehearsal, I initially kept my way straight down the road… But then, a completely different sound caught my attention.

_(Hm? What was that?)_

I stopped mid-run, wondering what I had just heard, but it wasn't so easy to figure this out. Only after I closed my eyes and listened as closely as I could while trying to tune out the faraway echoes of the Samurai-actors' yelling, I finally recognized the other sound as being a human voice as well. However, a much calmer, more quiet voice.

There was someone singing…. I sharpened my ears and tried to look around to find the source of the melody.

_(Maya? No, that's not her. The pitch is too high…) _I thought about it. _(But still… that voice seems familiar.)_

Finally, realizing that the mysterious singer couldn't be too far away even though I couldn't see her, I formed a funnel with my hands, held it to my mouth and shouted.

"Hello? Is there anybody?"

I took a closer look around and repeated my call. Abandoning the trail of the Samurai-yells, I finally just followed the song, looking around closely everywhere. I followed the direction the song came from for a few seconds until I finally spotted someone sitting on a tree stump.

It was a young girl and, judging by her clothes, she was a Spirit Medium. It was obvious from her movements that she was the one who was singing.

A suspicion regarding that girl's identity built up in my mind and was quickly confirmed when I approached her a few more steps: Short, lean built, round face, lowly placed big eyes and, finally, braided hair in two rings, forming a kind of pretzel.

"Ah! Pearls!"

Perfect. This was the best thing that could have happened. If anyone knew where Maya was, it was her little cousin here. I ran over to her and kept calling her name.

"Hey! Pearls! Pearls, look over here!"

She didn't react right away. Only when I was ten meters away, maybe less, she finally noticed that I was running towards her. Her head then rose and she abruptly stopped singing, just when I reached her and stopped running.

"…Hello, Pearls!" I told her smiling, slightly out of breath. "How are you doing?"

"…"

She turned her head towards me. Then she got up from the stump.

_(Why isn't she saying anything?)_

Instead of answering my greeting, she stared up at me in an actually quite scary way. I backed off a little.

"…Pearls?"

"…"

The little girl was looking at me with her big eyes, silently, not losing even a single word. I was starting to get nervous.

_(Maybe I frightened her, appearing out of nowhere all of a sudden…?) _I wondered. In an attempt to make up for this, I bent down, trying to get as close to her eye level as possible.

"Uhm… Say Pearls… Could you tell me where Maya is? I can't find her."

"…"

She raised her head a little, probably because I still wasn't quite as low down as I should have been. She didn't talk, didn't blink, didn't even move. In fact, I couldn't even tell if she was breathing.

That unnerving stare seemed creepily familiar too me. Soon I remembered from where: Our first meeting, of course.

_(Ah, that's right… She doesn't know me, does she?)_

Pearls' mother, Morgan, had taught her to be wary of 'suspicious' strangers. Which apparently included lawyers with unconventional hairstyles and meant that she'd probably escape as soon as I made a wrong move. I had to be careful.

"Ehm…well…"

"…"

She kept staring at me from below, observing me closely as she did.

"I mean…Hello." I tried to restart the conversation. "So…You are Pearl Fey, right?"

"…"

"I am Phoenix Wright. I'm a… friend of Mystic Maya. Could you tell me where she is right now?"

"Mystic Maya…"

_(She said something!)_

This little success made my hope for getting any information from this girl rise. Pearls raised her head slightly and kept looking at me.

"Mystic Maya is waiting…"

"Yes, exactly!" I pointed at myself. "She's waiting for me! So, could you please tell me where she's waiting? I kinda… forgot it."

"…"

Pearl was still staring at me. I didn't know how to react to this, so I stayed patient and waited. I didn't want to risk accidently scaring her. It took quite a few seconds, maybe even more than a minute, until she finally made a movement again. She… turned.

_(Arghh! No! Don't run away!)_

Too late. Pearl was now running in the opposite direction of the one I came from, deeper into the forest.

"Hey! W-Wait!"

Not knowing what else to do, I chased after her. This proved to be difficult, as she took many turns and was incredibly quick. It wasn't surprising, actually. This was the girl who could run from Kurain to L.A. in less than half a day after all.

_(*Pant*… *Pant*… *Pant*… *Pant*… I can't let her lose me! She's the only hint regarding Maya's whereabouts that I've got! Not to mention that I'll probably never find my way out of this forest on my own if I get lost here…)_

I tried calling for her again, but she wouldn't stop and she wouldn't slow down. I started to worry, not about myself, but about her. We were pretty deep into the forest by now… Morgan would surely spank her if she found out that Pearl ran all the way down here all alone. I didn't want her to get into trouble because of me. But what was she doing here in the first place? Did she have some kind of secret hideout out here or something?

I only figured out the answer when the trees around me grew more and more sparse…

_(She's leading us out of the forest,) _I realized. _(But… where to?)_

Finally leaving the last two trees behind me, I ended up finding myself in a radically different environment than before:

A meadow. That's where Pearls had led me. A huge area with nothing but grass and flowers.

_(This seems… familiar…)_

I spotted Pearls thirty meters or so away from me in the midst of flowers, still running. I kept pursuing her, but couldn't shake off that weird feeling I had…

_(That whole chase… I think, I've done that before…,) _I realized. _(Yes… Pearl stands before me, says a few words and runs off. I chase after her, across a meadow… This meadow… I've been here before! …Where does this sense of Déjà vu come from…?) _

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember. Maybe because there was nothing to remember. Maybe this was really just a Déjà vu and nothing else? But still, the feeling was persistent. During every single step, I felt like re-watching an old movie that I hadn't seen in years.

There was a river on the other side of the meadow, down the hill. It wasn't too broad, but looked rather deep to make up for it. And the current seemed rather respectable as well. Remembering my previous experiences with rivers, I decided not to come too close to it…

I chased Pearls across the Riverbank – holding a respectable distance from the actual river – and tried calling her name again.

"Pearl! Wait up, please, Pearl!"

She didn't listen and so I had no choice but to keep running after her. It took quite a while before she finally started to slow down. Had she run out of breath? No, I didn't think so. This wasn't even close to the distance between L.A. and Kurain yet… Pearl could definitely take more than that. So why was she getting slower? It looked like she was about to halt.

She didn't leave the riverbank anymore from then on and led me down it, on and on, right towards a single tree that was planted close to the river. A tree that was blooming…pink.

_(…No, I am not even commenting on that anymore…)_

That reaction probably had something to do with the fact that chasing Pearl had left me exhausted. Exhausted enough that just stopping and sitting down seemed like an incredibly tempting idea. I could downright hear the angels sing their Hallelujah when I saw how the little girl actually stopped by the tree.

…Listening closer, however, it wasn't angels. It was Pearls who had started to sing again as soon as she had reached the tree. God sure blessed that girl with incredible lungs.

When I reached her, I slowed down. I absolved the last few steps in normal speed and heard how Pearl stopped singing again. She remained looking at the tree. I had almost reached her, when I heard her say something.

"The cherries are still blooming…"

"So, those are cherries…?" I took my last two steps towards her from behind, then turned my head towards the blossoms up in the tree, which Pearl was watching. "They're really pretty…"

"But the cherries have to wilt, Mr. Nick."

"Huh?"

Confused, I turned my head down and looked at the little girl before me. It wasn't just that she just started talking about the flowers wilting all of a sudden, it was also the fact that she had called me by my nickname…

How could this Pearl even know my name? I thought we had never met before?

"Mr. Nick…

Lowering her head a little, Pearls continued to talk.

"They have bloomed for so long… And they are so beautiful… But the cherries will wilt, Mr. Nick, no matter how long you can make them bloom. And once that's happened, you can't make them come alive again. Even when the new cherry blossoms come the year after…They will never be the same again."

That was when she finally turned around and looked at me.

"Do you understand?"

There was nothing I could have said. Just 'No' wouldn't have done this speech justice, but… I couldn't answer anything else to this. I had no idea what she was trying to tell me… not the slightest idea. In the end, I slowly shook my head, staring down at her in confusion.

And she stared back at me.

We stayed like that for a few moments. There was a slight warm breeze. Of course, it was early May after all.

April was over. The last traces of winter had disappeared. Those were the days where spring slowly started to cross over into summer. So all those flowers at Pearls' feet… were those spring flowers or summer flowers? I couldn't tell. I had never learned the difference. And what was so special about those blossoms on the tree? Why did Pearl point out how short-lived they were to me like this?

So many things I didn't understand…

I felt like the most ignorant person in the world right now.

"Mystic Maya is waiting, Mr. Nick," Pearls suddenly told me. "She has been waiting for an answer for so long. She's grown tired of waiting. She thinks you may have forgotten, Mr. Nick."

"Forgotten?" I asked.

"Forgotten about too many things. Just because you're a _coward_ _and liar_."

And that was when it hit me. That was when I remembered what this whole thing was reminding me of. I raised my head, shocked, startled, and stared at Pearls' big, brown eyes in disbelief.

"No way…how did you…"

It was a weird moment. What Pearl was saying and how she was looking at me gave me the chills and made me want to increase the distance between us.

_(This is off__,__) _I heard my inner voice tell me over and over. _(This is absolutely off and shouldn't be happening.) _I had no idea what was going on. But for a second, just a second, I actually came to wonderif the person I saw before me was actually the cute, little Pearl Fey that I knew…

And I would have probably thought about this for a little longer hadn't it been for someone addressing me just then.

"Well, who do we have here?"

I jerked.

_(That voice…)_

My curiosity about whoever had just said this was big enough for me to make me take my eyes off Pearl and the tree and turn around. I saw that there was someone sitting on a rock by the river's shore. I hadn't noticed this person before, but he didn't look like he had sat there only recently. It seemed like I ran right past him, when I came.

It was a man with black hair and rather tanned skin, facing the river. I couldn't see his face, but it looked like he was sipping on something… there was an intense scent in the air around him.

_(Wait… that smell seems familiar…)_

"You lost your way… Trite?"

"…!"

Even though this was when it dawned on me who the person sitting there had to be, I probably wouldn't have even needed to hear him calling me that. I would have figured out from the voice and smell alone just a few seconds later. Especially from the fragrance.

I saw the man lowering his head a little.

"Or… are you waiting for someone here?" He then changed his voice's pitch a little. _"Let's go. We can't. Why not? We're waiting..."_

I took a step closer towards the man.

"G…Godot…"

"Ha."

Godot… no… Diego Armando stood up from his place and turned around, finally facing me. An aloof smile was on his lips:

"Seems like you've got at least some kind of trivial knowledge under that spiky skull of yours."

Somehow, the second half of this sentence killed off the atmosphere for me, being as wrong as it was. Just because my hair was shaped like this, it didn't mean my skull was as well …

Armando ignored the offended look on my face and just took a sip from the coffee mug in his hand – one wonders how it was still as hot as the steam made it look, when he had brought it with him all the way down here from Kurain – and continued to talk to me.

"Yes, _'Waiting for Godot'… _ A good play, don't you think?"

"A…play…?"

I perhaps shouldn't have said that out loud. Armando looked like he had just internally revised his statement about me and 'trivial knowledge'. And, to be honest, I didn't feel exactly educated at the moment either. He had made it sound like this play was something one just had to know about…

There was no doubt that this was him. Diego Armando... A.K.A 'Prosecutor Godot', the man whom I had faced in my last three trials before this whole mess had started. Still, it was impressive how different he looked. I tried hard not to stare at him, but this was quite a task.

_( I see… This is the 'true' Diego Armando,) _I realized. _(Of course. With both Mia's and Dahlia's roles changed like this, he was spared the poisoning. So that's what he really looks like…)_

Not only was the difference of his change in hair color quite striking – he really looked a whole lot more youthful like this – this was also the first time I actually saw his eyes. Still, it was obviously the same person. There was even that same smug expression on his face, which, despite the lack of the visor, didn't look even the slightest tad different.

_(…But what is he doing down here?)_

"A pair of men. " Armando said, as he took another sip of his coffee. "Waiting for someone who will never arrive. They know that it is hopeless and still they keep waiting and waiting, unable to move on."

The expression on his face changed a little and became slightly bitterer. "Right now, I feel like I could identify with them... After all…" He turned towards the river again. "My kitten won't just float down this river in a basket and come back, will she? So… I wonder what I am still waiting for here."

As he looked out to the river, I stayed silent behind him. I couldn't say anything. For probably the first time since I first met this man, I knew exactly what and who he was talking about.

This was a valley near Kurain. And he was Diego Armando, the lawyer who had fallen in love with Mia Fey in the 'world' I remembered. He was here and Mia Fey was alive…

So it needed no genius to figure out who his 'kitten' was.

There were many things that had changed. But just like Iris and I still had somehow become a couple… so had apparently Armando and Mia. I stood there and looked at the river behind this man.

_(Yes, if the solution to all our problems would just float by on a river… We would just have to wait for it and then pick it up here. But problems are never just solved like that. That would be too easy…)_

"And what about you, Trite?"

I turned my attention back at Armando, who had turned around again. "What are you doing here? What are _you _waiting for?"

"…"

I took a short look around. There was no trace of Maya anywhere here… What was I doing standing around here then? I should continue to try and find her. Then again, it was 3:30pm, as my watch told me. Half an hour past our meeting time… Would she still be waiting for me if I found her? Probably not…

So would it even make difference if I went back and tried to find her now? I already disappointed her again. Maybe she didn't even want to talk to me…

But just standing here and waiting wouldn't do me any good either. I had to act… right?

Hesitantly, I opened my mouth and spoke.

"Mr. Armando…I'm searching for Maya Fey. "

When Armando only gave me an unimpressed smirk, I went on.

"We were supposed to meet but… I can't seem to find her anyw-"

"Did I ask you about that, Trite?" Armando put his coffee mug down on the ground and came closer to me. "I didn't ask you _who_ you are _searching_ for. I asked _what_ you are _waiting _for."

Confused, I raised my head, as he approached me.

"There's a lot you could be doing, Trite. You could be at home, drinking a nice mug of coffee. You could be working, thinking about how to get your latest case over in the fastest way. You could also be taking a little time to think about what way you are going and if you really want to sink with that shabby ship you built."

I stood there and listened, feeling how my hands clutched to fists again. It didn't feel good to know that his last metaphor was absolutely justified…

"But instead, you are here, of all places you could possibly be. You are out here, doing nothing with your life, while _she, _who worked twenty-four hours a day to make sure that all the black sheep on mankind's meadow are found out and that lost lambs are safely guided home, was cast into a dark hole and locked away. So much for 'Justice'. Ha."

I hadn't paid attention, just for a moment, that's when Armando had grabbed me by my collar and pulled me over.

_(…!)_

I suddenly found myself dangling above the river, unable to get free from Armando's grip. And even if I had managed to free myself, I would most likely just have ended up slipping into the water if I did.

_(W-What's this about? He isn't going to drop me in there… is he?)_

I became incredibly nervous when I realized how well I could imagine this man doing just that. Especially knowing that he would have a pretty strong motivation to act like this. And what he went on to tell me while I was facing the current beneath me didn't make me feel any better.

"Do you know about the stories the Spirit Mediums here tell about this river, Trite?" I heard Armando ask. "It's the Seishigawa river. It may not look it, but its nine meters deep and incredibly cold. To the mediums here, it's a spiritual place. Couples and Friends often swear their oaths down here to make sure they will be able to keep them. On the other hand, they also say that every liar who falls into this river is pulled to the bottom by the weight of their own sins and drowns pitifully. It's a fate no amount of dumb luck can avert."

_(*gulp*)_

" So tell me, Trite…"

As if to strengthen the impression of what he just said, Armando made me bow lower above the river, so that I was literally on the edge. I suddenly became a lot more aware of the water's murmuring, so that it became almost as loud as Armando's voice to me.

"…if I was to let go of your collar right now, would you drown and die?" He finished his question.

I watched the water under me rush past. Of course, there were a few things the women of Kurain believed in that had absolutely no basis in reality, like the whole myth revolving around Ami Fey's sacred urn, for example. The urn had been broken _trice_ in succession and the channeling power of the Fey family had suffered no ill-effects whatsoever. Still… whether this new myth here was true… I really didn't want to be the one to find out.

'_Every liar who falls into this river is pulled down and dies.'_ I was reminded of what Pearl had told me just a few minutes ago. That I was a coward and a liar. Was this a coincidence? Maybe she brought me here on purpose.

When she called me a 'liar', maybe she had been right in a certain way. And so was Armando. I've been telling quite a few lies ever since I first arrived here. After all, why was I so alone at the moment? Because I hadn't told anybody the whole truth yet. Even when I faced Mia, I had only given her the basic outline, before backing off again. I had been too scared of the probable reaction. Wasn't that the most logical way to act in my situation, after all? Yet a lie is still a lie. No matter how justified it might be. There was no denying this.

And then, there was another thing. One that was much more important. This other 'Phoenix Wright'… No matter how horrible I found everything I had heard about him. No matter how much I wanted to disassociate myself from that person…

If everything that was different now really only changed for the sole reason that DL-6, that one single December day back when Edgeworth and I were nine years old, had somehow changed and lost its significance… This means that up to this year, this other Phoenix and I were identical. Absolutely one and the same. I could have turned out that very same way. I was capable of doing everything he did. Including whatever lies he used to win his cases.

"I…"Feeling how my tie and collar almost strangled me in the position they were in right now, I closed my eyes, as I coughed out the answer to Armando's question. "I would… probably… drown…"

"Ha. At least you admit it."

"Hngh…"

I was pulled back. Then, with enough force to throw a hammer, Armando flung me away, at the Tree behind us. The impact was unpleasant to say the least and I was greeted by a rain of pink blossoms falling into my lap when I opened my eyes again and attempted to not make a face because of my hurting back.

"But admitting won't undo your wrongs, Trite," I heard Armando tell me. "Just like trying to filter the sugar back out of a mug of coffee that turned out too sweet will never work. If you don't want the beans to go to waste, you'll have no other choice but to drink it."

Armando picked up the mug he had previously put down. He took another deep sip, looking like he was trying to empty the mug as quickly as possible. When he was finished, he wiped his mouth.

"You'd better remember that."

He left when he was finished saying this. I watched him walk down the riverbank, not paying me a single second of attention more, as I slowly attempted to get up onto my feet again. When I managed to, Armando had long become a tiny dot on the horizon, too far away to possibly hear any sound I made. Good.

"Argh… Ow…"

I put my hands to my head. It hurt. My back hurt, my neck hurt, my legs hurt… I was starting to wonder if there was any part of my body that _didn't _hurt at the moment. It was hard to tell with the pain pulsing everywhere. Hadn't I taken enough abuse for the day already, after spending a whole three hours next to Franziska von Karma?

_(Of all the people I could have possibly stumbled across, it just had to be him, right? Well, I guess I can consider myself lucky that he didn't actually drop me in the river… And now, Pearls is gone. Great.) _A look around revealed to me that I had stayed behind alone. _(I guess she must have run away when I was busy with Armando__.__ How am I going to find the way back to the village now?)_

In an attempt to maybe, just maybe, find Pearls again – seeing how she was my only way to not end up running through the woods in circles – I called out her name.

"Pearl!

And, just because I was desperate enough, I did it once again.

"Pearl! Pearl, where are you? Pearl!"

_(Apparently, she went back home…)_

"Pearl?... Who are you talking to?"

My ears perked. There was a girl's voice right behind me.

I turned around and saw a familiar face clad in pink and purple Medium garb, blinking at me in a confused manner. It wasn't Pearls, in case you were wondering.

I was more than surprised to realize that it was Maya.

And she was looking at me in a half-confused, half-insecure manner.

So there she was. Here I was. Almost forty minutes past our meeting time. Great. I wondered what was currently going through her head now, but I could at least be certain that she surely wasn't too glad that she had to search for me for half and a quarter hour. Still, I was incredibly relieved to finally be facing her again.

A part of me wanted to just run over to her and blurt out everything I wanted to tell her. The remaining ninety percent of my brain, however, kept that part hostage and repeatedly smacked it for being so incredibly stupid. There was no way I could just do that. I had to start off slow… no…slower…

But, for some reason, 'slow' seemed to have recently become a synonym for 'awkwardly'.

"…Hello… Maya," I finally managed to get out.

Maya slightly raised her head. For a moment there, it looked like she was going to open it and say something, but then she let her head sink again without having made a sound.

And a mute Maya wasn't a good thing. Never. I had to break this silence as quickly as possible.

It was frustrating when I found myself unable to make the first step. Like my feet were glued to this spot. My mind was systematically crossing out every single new method I came up with for approaching her, one after another. I just didn't know how to talk to her. After all, I didn't know what she would do, how she would react… And that when every negative reaction on her part would have been absolutely justified too.

Thankfully Maya, unlike me, was eventually able to decide what to do. She raised her head again.

"Nick…" I heard her whisper.

_(There she goes, calling me Nick again…)_

She timidly looked up at me.

"…I… I'm sorry for being late… the rehearsal's break was delayed…"

_(Ah…That's right. I heard those rehearsals when I came__,__) _I realized, causing me to sigh relieved. _(I should have known that she had to be present there. So Maya was late for our meeting as well… That's good to know.)_

"…So I…" For some reason, Maya couldn't do much more than stutter. "Why I… asked you to come here… well… I…"

"Maya…?" I carefully approached her. "Is everything… alright?"

"I…" She raised her head, "I just wanted… to tell you that I… Nick…"

That was when her expression started to change. Her eyes suddenly started to get wet. It looked like an attempt of hers to not to cry was just failing horribly.

Before I could understand what was going on, she had already burst into tears and leapt right at me, grabbing my jacket with both her hands.

"Nick… Nick, I...Th-Thank you for helping me in court today, Nick!"

"…H-Hey!"

She started wiping off her tears with my tie, as I was still trying not to fall over from the sudden change of balance.

"Back in there, I didn't know what to do anymore!" she told me, still not letting go off my jacket. "Hadn't you stopped Miles, he'd have… he'd… I'm so _sorry_ I was such a jerk to you! But after what happened… I thought you had… I was just so… Nick!"

Maya looked up at me in a pleading way.

"P-Please don't let us fight anymore. I don't want that. Just tell me what… what's going on and… We'll fix everything! Alright?"

"What…"

I didn't understand anything anymore, when I saw Maya's wet eyes looking at me like that. This was not 'my friend Maya', right? This was the Maya who had tried to brutally beat me up just a day prior. She was supposed to hate me and supposed to be furious at me. She had every reason to. But now there she was, asking _me _to forgive her. That was wrong. After what she had to go through… that was just wrong.

Puzzled by what was happening, I shook my head. "What… are you talking about? Maya!"

I took her by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "_You _being a _jerk _to me? Maya, I got Mia convicted! _Mia!_ _Your sister! _If there's anyone here who was acting like a jerk, it's me!"

"No…" She shook her head wildly. "…No, that's got to be wrong, something about that can't be right! Because I know that can't be…You wouldn't do that! Not you!"

"Maya…"

"It just can't be what happened…" Maya turned her head away. "… In that trial… that couldn't have been you! The real Nick isn't like that! Something must have been wrong, you're not like this! You're…"

"Maya, calm down." I told her when her speech was getting faster again. She had been made miserable enough already over the course of those events, I didn't want herself to put any kind of blame on herself. "You had – and still have – every right to be angry at me, alright? You shouldn't be apologizing for anything! So please… please stop it. And don't cry."

"…" Maya slowly looked up to me. "…You… you're really being serious now, right? You're not just making fun of me, are you? …Please tell me that you're not."

"I am not." I told her, shaking my head. "And I am sorry for what happened. For everything… I know that apologizing isn't even close to do any good in that situation, but please… don't cry, alright? Especially not because of me."

"…A…Alright…"

She finally stopped crying. She turned her head to the side and fell silent for a few moments.

"…"

"…Maya?"

"Nick…" Maya wiped off a few stray tears, before she carefully peaked up, telling me. "…I've just… decided something…"

"Decided?"

She looked up at me. That's when her eyes suddenly turned a whole lot more determined. She balled her hands to fists.

"…There have to be _two _Nicks!"

"W…What?"

I blinked a few times to show my opinion that this wasn't exactly something she could just 'decide'. Not that she cared.

"Yes, that's the only possible explanation!" There was something in her voice coming dangerously close to _enthusiasm _as she said the following. "You have an evil double that runs around messing up stuff in order to make everyone's life miserable! That's how it has to be."

_(Ah, good, ol' Maya.)_

"Been there, done that." I told her, just for the sake of mentioning it. "If you want details, he has a bad sunburn and a Brooklyn Accent..."

"_I knew it!_," Maya exclaimed victoriously, before noticing that something was off. "…Wait, Brooklyn Accent?"

"…And nothing to do with all of this whatsoever," I finished my sentence.

"Oh…" Maya looked disappointed. "And I was so sure…"

Pouting, she turned her eyes to the ground and went on to sulk a little. I don't know if I have some weird mindset, but when I saw her doing this in this way, in those clothes, something inside me just rejoiced and shouted, _"Welcome home! Sit down and relax to the sound of normal normality!"_ I felt incredibly calmed and comfortable all of a sudden.

I was so glad to see Maya like that. Not that I enjoyed watching her sulk, but it was just great to have her here, right in front of me, just being…

"I would have even had a name for the guy! Xin Eohp! Sounds neat, doesn't it?"

…Maya.

_(Apparently, Edgeworth was right.) _I realized. _(Maya didn't really hate me, did she? It was all just show... And a pretty convincing one as well. But now she seems to view me pretty much the same like 'before. Just like the 'original' Maya. I don't understand how, but somehow__,__ it looks like her and the other Phoenix are… or were at some point… friends. Even though that doesn't fit into the pattern at all… I mean, Maya being friends with a corrupt prosecutor?)_

"Are you happy about something, Nick?" She asked me. "You look like you just won the lottery!"

"Oh… Eh… I'm just glad to see you, Maya." I told her in all honesty.

"Me too! Whew, I'm really relieved you actually came! I wondered if you'd take my note seriously after all that's happened. Or, even worse, that a _fake_ Nick would come to see me!" She folded her hands and smiled. "Well, at least I know that _you're_ the real Nick for sure! You have that great, big smile on your face that that no evil twin could ever copy! _That's _the real deal!"

_(Oh, the irony.)_

"Eh, yeah… about that…" This was where it would get difficult, so I bit my lip.

I had to try to get this across very, very carefully.

"…I wouldn't be too fast calling me the _'real deal'_," I told her. "Especially not from your point of view."

"Huh?" Maya looked so clueless and upbeat right now, it almost hurt. "What 'cha talking about, Nick?"

I had several possible answers to this question to pick from. All of them were stupid. Might as well just randomly take one.

_(This is going to be many, many levels of awkward…)_

"OK, Maya...," I started off, talking slow and clearly. "Let's assume, just assume, that the guy who prosecuted the case against your sister and was being a, well, all-around jerk, really wasn't me."

"Alright! Assumed!" Maya looked just all too happy about hearing this. Too bad I had to disillusion her.

I decided to quickly go on, before I gave her wrong ideas. "And now let's assume that the 'Phoenix Wright' you apparently met before wasn't me either."

"Uhm… yes?," she already looked a little more disheartened, not to mention confused. "…Nick?...Where are you going with this…?"

"…And then, assume that I'm also not the one you think you know. And the one your sister knows. And the one you probably heard about in the media… Eh… Well… Let's just assume that no 'Phoenix Wright' you ever heard of before is actually me, alright?"

"…"

Maya stared at me for a few seconds, assuring herself that I actually was serious about this. She then actually took a step back.

"…Who are _you _then!"

"I am Phoenix Wright," I answered, knowing how incredibly idiotic that must sound right after the speech I just delivered.

Maya jumped. "How many 'Phoenix Wright's' are there?"

"At the very least, one too many for my taste…"

* * *

Once I had established to Maya that I, somehow, was a Defense Attorney from some kind of 'Parallel Universe' where the lives of everyone went differently from how they went here – and I'm really lucky I'm used to stating off-the-wall theories by now, since otherwise this might have cost me my last shred of dignity – things went surprisingly smoothly. It, of course, helped how incredibly open she soon became to everything I told her. It was actually quite amazing how fast she opened up to my story, even for Maya. Almost like she had been prepared to hear something like this. Or maybe, even hoped it. Of course, considering that she really seemed to like the idea that I was, in fact, not a jerk, combined with the kind of mindset she had, this was probably not too far-fetched. I first tried to keep the explanations as short and compact as possible, but, after getting over the initial shock, Maya would often stop me and ask questions. Especially my life as a Defense Attorney seemed to intrigue her a lot. Questions like "Were you good? How many cases did you have?" or "And me? Did I get to wear a cool suit too?" would pop up over and over again and so, what I had planned to be a ten minute explanation, quickly turned into a twenty minute mini-documentary about the life and hardships of an Attorney and his trusty Sidekick. The fact that I was slowly starting to enjoy retelling everything to Maya, like I was the protagonist of a mystery novel didn't help much. I started mentioning more unnecessary details as the time passed by, and Maya started asking more unnecessary questions. It was almost like a vicious circle. Inevitably, however, questions like Mia's whereabouts or that of their mother came up as well. My answers to this were proof at how horribly I could fail at being sensible in the right situation. Maya didn't seem to mind too much, however. Interested and with a certain sense of awe on her face, she kept listening and asking her questions.

"…and that's, well, pretty much how I ended up here. And I somehow can't seem to get back home." I finally ended my explanation, putting my hands down into my lap. Maya and I had sat down under the Cherry Tree when standing had turned to tiring.

"Wow!" Maya didn't restrain her amazement the least bit. "That's awesome!"

"Well, actually, I think the situation is a bit of a mess…"

"No, no, no, not that! The stuff before that!" Maya gestured with her arms. "I love it! That story has everything! Everything, I tell you! Drama, lots and lots of fun parts, great characters, complicated relationships, incredibly cool back-stories, action, over-the-top gestures, yelling, people crashing through ten tons of heavy doors, explosions…"

_(Huh… I guess I overdid it a little somewhere along the way…)_

"…and, not to forget, a cute, pretty, clever, loveable assistant!" Maya grinned in a not-so-subtle attempt to hint at something. "You should write that down and hand it in as a script at the studios! It would _glue _the people to their TV sets!"

"T-That's not just some story I made up, Maya!" I quickly reminded her. "And, besides, I don't think the people would really want to watch two lawyers in court flinging insults at each other for twenty five minutes straight. It would get silly."

"I would watch it!" She told me happily.

"And that's why you're not 'the people'."

"Maybe, they'd like to play it then?" Maya wondered aloud. "You know… Like an interactive book, where you choose the answers to questions in order to make the hero progress! We could sell it on Portable Video Game systems!"

"Now _you're_ getting silly." I told her. "Listen Maya, my problem now is not how my life would sell better than that of any other attorney, my problem is that I am _stuck _here, barely knowing anything about everything that's going on here. And, on top of that, there was an innocent girl murdered in my apartment. I need help, or I'm going to go down. Or snap."

"Hm… You know, if you told anyone else about what you just told me, they'd probably tell you that you already _did_ snap!" She grinned at me over both ears. The bad part about it was that she was absolutely right.

"…But _you_ believe me, don't you?"

"Well, it does really sound a little strange…" She told me, looking up in the air. "But it does explain a lot. Like…for example…"

"…why I'm not being a giant douche to everyone who crosses my path?" I guessed.

Maya turned her head back to me and smiled.

"Yeah, that too!"

_( 'Too'? What else did you want to bring up?)_

"Say… if you're not 'our' Nick, that makes me wonder…" Maya came up with a question "Where did 'our' Nick go then?"

"Well, I guess he-" And that's where I stopped. "-ARGH!"

A horrible, horrible thought had crossed my mind.

_(P-Please don't tell me that back at home this guy is… Oh… No. No, No, No…) _

"But, in any case, this is great!" I heard Maya say and turned my attention back to her. "Not really what I hoped, but still great! With you here now, we can fix everything!"

"What do you mean by 'fix everything'?" I asked Maya.

She folded her hands again and spoke enthusiastically. "They all think you were a Prosecutor, right? So, first of all, we'll get Mia and Dahlia out of jail! Then, we'll go through all of the Dark Nick's cases and see where else he screwed up, so we can set that right too!"

I only had one thing to say about this.

"…'_Dark_' Nick?"

"Well, he's not a twin or double, is he? So a backwards name won't do it." Maya explained. "I thought about calling him 'Anti-Nick', but since you're technically the 'other' one, that would make _you_ 'Anti-Nick'. And that wouldn't sound… nice."

"No… It wouldn't," I agreed.

"See? Now, you just have to decide what name you like better for yourself! 'Light Nick' or 'Bright Nick'?"

Maya. Maya in the flesh.

"…I'd like to keep my current name, thank you."

"But I can still call you 'Nick', right?" Maya asked, "I like the sound of that name."

And I was glad that she knew of the nickname. Even though I still didn't know how or when she learned it, I was just glad she wanted to call me that. So I smiled and nodded.

"Yes. 'Nick' is fine."

"And I'm Maya!" She told me and suddenly held her hand out to me, causing me to look puzzled.

"…?"

She apparently understood what this look meant. "Well, I realized… if you're not him, I haven't really introduced myself to you yet, right? So, here I go: I'm Maya Fey! Or MAYOI, if you need my stage-name! But you can call me Maya!"

I took her hand and decided to just go with it.

"Alright… 'Nice to meet you' then, Maya."

"Great!" Maya grinned, "And now, that we got that out of the way…Let's go get me my sis back!"

"Uhm… "She obviously believed this to be a lot easier than it really was. "Not that I wouldn't want to go with that plan, but I'm already busy with a case for now, remember?"

"Oh, right…" Maya became a little calmer again and started to ponder a bit. "You guys still haven't figured out who really killed that girl, right? Ema…"

"Did you know her?" I asked Maya, just to be sure. She did appear a little hesitant to answer.

"Just a little bit," she said. "I met her once or twice. But I know that she was a nice person!"

_(Hm…I can really imagine the two of them getting along very well.)_

Maya looked at me determined. "Nobody would have had a reason to do that to her!"

"Still, somebody did. And in 'my' apartment."

"Hm…" Maya tapped her cheek with her fingers as she was thinking. "And it couldn't have been her sister, right? I mean, her sister is a friend of my sister!"

_(So people who like Mia can't possibly cause any harm? I don't think the judge would let that count as a valid argument.)_

"More importantly, there's also the relationship between Lana and Ema." I explained, "Lana loved Ema just as much as Mia loves you. She would have done literally _everything _to protect her. An alien invasion from Mars is more likely than her being Ema's killer."

Taking that new information into account, Maya started thinking again.

"So, if Ms. Skye is obviously 'Not Guilty' and if nobody else had a reason to hate Ema either… what if the killer didn't murder her because she was Ema… but because of something she knew?"

"Because of something 'she knew'?" I asked.

"You know! Like in those old spy movies!" Maya explained excitedly, "An agent investigates, gathers vital information and then… BAM! They are silenced by the bad guys!"

_(Somehow, this sounds a lot more plausible than it should sound.)_

"Well, Ema really wanted to meet with me to discuss something that evening…" I remembered. "She wrote about having found 'scientific proof'. And before she died, she mentioned someone taking something from her."

_(Her handbag was missing at the crime scene. She never went anywhere without it and her equipment.)_

Could this have been what happened? That Ema had investigated a case for me and was killed because someone wanted to get rid of the evidence she discovered? But what could she possibly have found that someone believed it to be enough of a reason to commit a murder?

There were still too many holes in my knowledge of the case to say this for sure, but this seemed to be suspiciously likely. And, apropos knowledge-holes…

"Maya…Because of your testimony today…" I looked straight at her. "You really _were_ there at that apartment yesterday, weren't you?"

"…"

Falling silent, she looked away from me.

"Please, I need you to tell me. What did you see there?" I asked.

"I… I'm not really sure." Maya said. She looked up to me again. "I tried to attract nobody's attention, so I didn't look at anyone. I don't even know if I came across that blonde girl when I was there."

"I see…" _(So she really __**was**__ the one who brought this letter…)_

"But," she pondered something. "I think that there was something that struck me as... _odd_ when I slid the envelope in."

"Odd?" I asked. "And what was that?"

"I don't remember," She answered. "I just had this nagging feeling that something was a little off there. I probably don't know anymore because I didn't think too much about it."

Every detail I could find out was important, so Maya forgetting where her weird feeling about that moment stemmed from was not exactly a welcome occurrence. This took a lot of usefulness away from her testimony.

"I'm sorry I can't help more… I should have paid more attention." I heard her tell me shamefully, but I shook my head.

"You had no way of knowing what was going to happen."

"So… what are you going to do now, Nick?" Maya asked me.

"Well…" I tried to think everything through. "There's one witness I still haven't talked to yet…"

Maya nodded. "That blonde girl's boyfriend, right? Yeah, maybe he knows something. But you'd need to find him first…"

"And then there's Edgeworth," I said.

"Miles?"

"Yes," I nodded. "He's done more investigating at the crime scene than me, so I'm sure he found even more evidence I don't know about yet. Maybe I can persuade him to work together with me to put an end to this case…"

Maya appeared turned a little more reserved and nervous.

"…To be honest… I'd rather not face him anytime soon…," she mumbled.

"Because of what happened in court today, right?"

"…"

Nervously playing with her fingers, Maya turned her head away and sighed. "I know, he was only trying to find out what really happened, but… I was just so scared! I didn't know what to do and… and had he really opened the letter, it would have been all over…"

_(…'Over'? It wasn't really a love letter, was it?)_

What I had heard from Maya didn't make it sound like her relationship with the other Phoenix had been even the least bit romantic. It seemed to me more like they had been good friends. Just like 'my' Maya and me. So why was she so desperate to make sure that nobody found out about this letter's contents?

"I've been trying to avoid Miles the whole afternoon now, ever since we got back here." Maya sighed. "But it's really not easy, seeing how he always sticks so closely to the shooting location."

I listened up. "You mean… Edgeworth is here? In Kurain?"

Maya nodded. "He drove here right after the trial. I think he wanted to talk to Iris and my mother about something."

_(But couldn't he have done that right after the trial? Why do I have the feeling that he has a slightly different reason for being here as well? .__..__Oh. She said he was sticking close to the shooting location, didn't she?)_

Edgeworth's – to put it mildly – _weird_ behavior upon finding that I had the cards with Maya's and Iris' pictures on them in the recess sprung into my mind. I wanted to get rid of that slightly disturbing memory, but that was pretty much impossible, given what kind of strong impression it had left on my poor, poor mind.

"Nick?" Maya looked over to me. "Will Miles demand me to testify again tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Probably. Given that your testimony wasn't truthful to what you really did, he'll probably want another cross-examination from you."

"But I really can't remember anything important!" She assured me. "If I could, I would have told him right away!"

"He'll simply press you until you recall details then." I told her. "That's the most effective method for a Defense Attorney to get information out of a testimony without any contradictions."

"But there is nothing more! My head is empty! Empty, I tell you!"

_(I wouldn't go around saying that if I were you.)_

I sighed and turned a little. "Still, you gave Edgeworth a good reason to doubt you, so he'll surely not miss out on getting another testimony."

"Huh?"

"The letter," I told her. "You lied regarding it. Several times in a row. That made you look pretty suspicious."

"Oh… that…"

Thinking about the letter was obviously very unpleasant to her. The way she turned her head when I mentioned it was a dead giveaway that she was still incredibly upset that Edgeworth had found and threatened to open it. There had to be a story behind it…

"Maya. I don't know how relevant this really is, but… what did the letter say?" I asked her carefully.

She hesitated to answer, nervously staring at the grass at our feet before she spoke.

"…You're really not 'him'... Are you?"

I shook my head.

"No, I don't think so."

"I… see…"

Something happened that I hadn't expected to happen. Not now. As Maya slightly raised her head again to look at me... Her Psyche Locks reappeared before my eyes. It was the same three Psyche Locks that I had seen on her twice before.

"Maya…"

"If it's like that… I really can't tell you what the letter says. I'm sorry."

"You can't?"

"That letter is between… Mr. Wright… and me," she told me slowly, before quickly raising her head. "Y-You wouldn't want to read it anyway! It's full of nasty insults!"

_(Insults, huh? Sorry, I won't buy that.)_

She was trying to make it look again like she was having a vendetta with that 'other' Phoenix, but I knew better now. She had given away too much to fool me any longer with this act.

_(I just wonder why she doesn't want me to know what the letter says… Hm… Maybe I can figure out if I try to get behind her Psyche Locks?)_

I decided that I would try to ask her about it again at a given opportunity, once I got enough hints together to get behind her blockades. But for now, it was obvious that such an attempt wouldn't get me far… I had to wait until I figured out a little more.

"So, anyway. What do you think we should do next, Ma-"

"AHHHHH!"

Maya's sudden scream caused me to jump up in panic. "What? What happened?"

I found that Maya was staring at my wrist. My sleeve had slid back enough to reveal my watch. Apparently, that's what caused her the shock.

"I'm late!" She told me frantically. "The recess has been over for almost fifteen minutes! That's bad! Really bad!"

"Eh… maybe they didn't notice that you're missing!" I tried to calm her down. "What scene are you filming? A small one?"

"No! The climax!" was her loud answer. "With my character as the scene's focus!

_(OK, that's really bad.)_

"They can't film that scene without me!"

"Let's get back to the village quickly then," I told her. "Y-You know the way, right?"

"Of course!" Maya jumped up from where she had sat and sprinted off. "Alright! Let's go Nick!"

"Wait! Maya…"

Maya stopped when I called her. She turned around to me.

"Maya…Are you sure that it's OK if I show up there with you?" I looked at her. "I mean, after all that's happened…"

"Why? You're not the one who did it, are you?"

"…!"

I stared at Maya a little baffled, as she grinned and explained. "That other Mr. Wright who did all those awful things… that wasn't you, right?"

"But we're the only ones who know that!" I told her. _(…And believe it.)_

"So what?" was Maya's answer. "I know! That's enough for me! And, besides, leaving you alone now wouldn't be fair! You'd be hopelessly lost again, wouldn't you?"

"Maya…"

"Now, come on, Nick! We've got to hurry!"

"Ah! R-Right behind you!"

I learned something that afternoon: 'Wishful thinking' doesn't mean that the wish won't eventually turn out to come true. Maybe I should try wishing for more next time? All the evidence I'd ever need would be pretty nice, for example.

With Maya back on my side, I felt like the pressure on me had already lost half of its weight. There were still a lot of unanswered questions left and many things unexplained. Maybe even more than before. But I wasn't alone in this any longer. And that's what mattered.

Even though it was obsolete, since her wallet was probably just as stuffed as mine right now, I promised myself to buy Maya a giant Cheeseburger somewhere along the way.

Just because I felt like it.

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. But it was partially cut before it ripped.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Maya's Letter  
_Was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

_*)?  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

_*)Diego Armando  
_Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

_*)Pearl Fey  
_Led me to Maya's meeting place. Her behavior was weird though.

* * *

_The first one to tell me that Sakura don't bloom in May will be sent a 10 pages text containing the MST3000 mantra written over and over again. I know that a Sakura Tree blooming in May is weird. But there has to be a reason why Pearl specifically pointed it out, right? *hint, hint*_

_Godot. Because you can't have loads and loads of characters without including this guy. He'll appear less than most other charas, but trust me, he does a have a role. A small, but important role. Too be honest, I had two reasons for including him in this fic: A.) MiEgo is cute. B.) The orchestrated version of his theme song is just epic. _

_And since I listen to the Orchestra-arrangements a lot while coming up with my plots, Armando ensued._

_However, much more importantly, I finally get to kiss I-HATE-YOU!Maya goodbye in this chapter, which was about time, because Ace Attorney without bubbly sidekick is like pancakes without sugar: Could be tasty, but not as tasty as the real deal._

_So, we got Maya back with Phoenix. Great. Now I can seriously cut down on the Emo-factor. It was about time. -.- He was starting to depress even ME._

_Still, I once again realized that I am no good at writing scenes where some character reveals something big to another in an awkward way. They always come out… wrong. -_-;_

_I had noticed that I had somehow failed to update the Court Record in Chapter 15, so Maya's Letter was missing from it. I apologize for that and added the letter now. I'll also go back and add it in Chapter16 and Chapter 17… if I find time. _

_Now, let's talk about CrossOvers. Like, CrossOvers that involve Lawyers. And junk-food obsessed Spirit Mediums. And puzzle-solving, top-hat-wearing archeologists. And oh-my-god-adorable, really hungry little boys who talk to animals. _

_Can you say AWESOME?_

_There is no way in HELL that this is gonna suck. And if it ends up sucking anyway, I sell all my stuff and join a monastery out of shame for this wrong, wrong world._

_Thank you._

_Finally, let me tell you something about the official Ace Attorney: Casefiles Doujinshi-collection. There are some, really, really talented Would-Be Mangaka's works in there. As for certain others, however, I just have just one thing to say: If you can't draw Nick's hair, Mr. Nisemura, **let it be.** Don't make him live with the shame of having been depicted with a toilet-brush on his head once. (Although that **would **explain his weird toilet-brushing fetish…)_

_Alright, I am done._

_Gotta study 200 Kanji now, or I'm so gonna blow the Japanese test on November 24th. _

_さようなら。またね。(Yes, I know that none of these are Kanji. -_-;)  
_

_Over and out._


	19. Diamonds and Pearls

**May 2nd, 4:22pm  
Outside Kurain**

_(So this is where they film the movie?)_

Maya had led me to a spot outside the village where a huge crowd of people had already gathered. Many of them were girls and wore training-Kimonos, which confirmed my theory for the reason for Kurain having been as deserted as it was when I arrived. There were also a lot of young boys and girls in normal clothing, accompanied by their parents, staring at the set in awe. The area in front of the dressing tents of the actors especially seemed to be a very popular place. It was busy and loud, just like one would expect in a largely unguarded movie set.

"What happened to the Global Studios that would patch up air vents in order to keep fans from watching the actors on the set…?" I wondered to myself aloud.

"They allow the public during the shooting of scenes that aren't set inside a building," Maya explained to me. "It's because the studios doesn't want to spend a lot of money on blockades and security, I think."

_(Remind me to never sign a contract with Global Studios.)_

The good thing about the presence of so many people was that neither Maya, in her Medium Costume, nor me stuck out, so we could move forward without being interrupted. A few people actually seemed to notice who we were and turned around to look again, but thankfully, they lost sight of us rather quickly. Apparently, word of the events that transpired during the trial hadn't spread too far yet, otherwise I would surely have aroused a lot more negative attention.

Maya attempted to run towards the dressing tents a few times in order to make up for her lost time, but she failed trice in a row due to it just being impossible to maneuver through the masses of people quickly enough to actually start a sprint, so she gave up. When we approached the tents and went past the waist-high fence they used to keep the spectators a distance away from the actual set – not that this attempt worked all too well, seeing as how I spotted at least ten kids running around freely – I could pay that same set a closer look for the first time.

Basically, there wasn't much that was set up. Mostly, they had prepared cameras to shoot from every possible angle, as well as spotlights and, of course, the aforementioned dressing tents. There apparently wasn't much of an artificial scenery needed for the scene they were about to shoot. The set was built around a waterfall, which quickly caught my attention. I eyed it, wondering if this might be the waterfall the Mediums used for their Spiritual Training.

"Yes, this is the biggest one we have," Maya assured me. "The older Mediums usually use it for their meditations."

"The biggest one?" I asked. "So, there are others?"

Maya nodded. "We have three more! There's a glacier some miles higher up from here. It gives up enough freezing cold water to feed a ton of waterfalls!"

"Hm… And what would happen to the Mediums' training if the glacier would melt down completely?"

"…" Maya seemed a little clueless as she pondered about that question. "Well, I think that'd be a problem…"

_(Note: Spirit Mediums are endangered by Global Warming.)_

"Ms. Fey!"

Somebody, probably a stage hand, came running our direction, calling out for Maya and waving nervously. It was a good thing we were already out of the crowd; otherwise we probably wouldn't have noticed her. The woman came to a halt before us and nervously looked down at Maya.

"Where've you been, Miss? We are already delayed!"

"I'm sorry! I'll get ready right away!" Maya skipped past me and towards the tents. "Please wait here, Nick, OK?"

"Can I do that?" I asked, pointing at the fence behind us. "I thought this area was for cast and staff members only?"

Maya listened to me and just nodded calmly. She turned towards the stagehand.

"He has special permission!"

And the stagehand shrugged and returned the nod.

"He has special permission."

_(That's the quickest that I've ever got special permission…)_

"Alright, I gotta hurry now!" Maya got ready to sprint off to the dressing tents. "See you later, Nick! And don't break anything while I'm gone! Heheh!"

And that's how Maya left again, closely followed by the stagehand. It looked like, for the time being, I was on my own once again.

_(Well, it was a fun hour…)_

She had asked me to wait. Despite actually being under time pressure, I decided to follow that little plead. Maya wouldn't be filming that scene forever, would she?

My heavy suitcase, however, constantly reminded me what kind of important case I was currently following. I had to keep gathering leads.

_(Von Karma wants to investigate with me tonight… I don't think that will help much. Edgeworth was already there. He probably didn't leave even a single suspicious nook or cranny unexamined. She won't find even as much as dust at the crime scene. Then, she'll freak out. Then, she'll whip me… *gulp* … I wonder if Maya could make the Studios lend me one of those rubber suits?)_

Never before had investigating a crime scene in a Steel Samurai costume seem to be such a tempting idea. I had taken so many beating in the last two days alone, I actually had the feeling that it would be easier to count the spots that weren't bruised yet, rather than to count the spots that were. I wondered how much longer my skin would be able to withstand the constant abuse. I didn't want to end up carrying some kind of scar for the rest of my life and be forced to one day tell my grandchildren, _'This is from when a woman whipped me for not satisfying her expectations__.__'_

_(Scar… That reminds me...)_

Hadn't Gumshoe said something regarding my health as well, when he told me about the trials he was accused in? I believed he had mentioned a broken leg…

_(I somehow have a weird feeling about this… Let's see…)_

Checking if anybody was watching me, I took a long look around. Then, I sat down in the grass and rolled up the right pant leg carefully. What I found under it was a short, reddish line going down my leg starting under the knee and going on for just an inch or two more. I could make out tiny lines resembling stitches interrupting the reddish line.

_(I knew that there was something down there… Looks like I had an operation on that leg. That must have been a pretty nasty fracture.)_

I quickly covered the leg again and stood up, thinking about what I had just seen. Apparently, Gumshoe's story about 'me' being unable to prosecute a case because of a broken leg was true. But that wasn't what was bothering me now. There was something a whole lot more alarming about this.

_(I see. So in any case, that means… that I'm in that 'other' Phoenix' body right now.)_

It was an unsettling thought, coupled with an even more unsettling feeling. 'Not my body'? Given, there wasn't much of a difference, but it still caused chills to go down my spine and those chills got even more intense when I realized that it wasn't even _my _spine by that logic.

Was this how channeled spirits felt upon realizing that they were in another person's body? In that case, I had to ask Maya back home to somehow establish Medium training for men once she became master. I didn't find it very fair to expose a man to going through this procedure in a _women's _body.

_(This makes the question, 'Whatever happened to the Phoenix who actually belongs here?' all the more urgent…)_

I had a feeling like I was going to be sick. Back at home, there was possibly a guy running around with my face right now, probably doing and saying very unpleasant things in my name. And I had no way to stop that from happening at the moment.

_(Alright, alright… I gotta stay calm. If I ever want to get back home, I first need to figure out how I got here in first place, right? And, from the look of things…) _I caught myself staring at my right leg as I thought of this. _(This is starting to look more and more like it is somehow connected to the power of the Fey family in some way or another. I mean, if this isn't even my body, I shouldn't have any of my own belongings on me, should I? But the Magatama is still there and charged… Actually, maybe more like 'over'__-__charged…)_

I pulled the little gem out of my pocket and took another look at it.

_(Maya's Magatama with Pearls' spiritual energy. The one thing I __**really**__ shouldn't have on me right now. And yet, it's still there…)_

I could ponder about this as long as I wanted, but, in the end, I had to come to a conclusion, which was that I wouldn't possibly come to a conclusion. Not with the information I had on hand now. This whole mystery wouldn't be easy to solve, especially since I had no idea whom I could ask about it. I had a feeling that solving the murder on hand would prove to be a lot, _lot _less difficult than solving _this_ mess…

I had just enclosed the Magatama in my fist and was about to put it back into my pocket, when I felt somebody pulling on my jacket from behind.

"Excuse me? Mister…?"

The high pitched voice caused me to jerk. The voice of a young girl…

I turned around and found a small person in a Kimono looking up to me with big, curious eyes.

My mouth opened.

"Pear-"

_(No… wait…)_

A second of looking at the girl before me was enough to realize my mistake. This was a grade school girl and she was wearing a Kimono … but still, this was definitely _not _Pearls. How did I fail to notice this right on first glance?

While wondering about the answer to this question, my eyes quickly got stuck at her hair, or rather, what she was wearing there. A kind of string was neatly tied into her short, brown hair in a way vaguely resembling a bow.

_(That's one weird ribbon she has there. No wonder I immediately thought of Pearls when I saw that. Looks almost like her hair…)_

Aside from this ribbon, she also wore a necklace, but there wasn't any jade charm or Magatama attached to it. Instead, a green glass-brooch, shaped like a Diamond, dangled from it. It stuck out quite a lot and somehow I had a feeling that this brooch wasn't meant to be worn like that. It looked more like the kind you usually pin onto your shirt or jacket. I started to wonder if that girl actually was a Medium, or if she just dressed up like that for fun.

My eyes wandered up to her face.

_(…Huh?)_

A sudden, strong sense of familiarity overcame me when I took a closer look at the girl's face. I couldn't quite pinpoint why, even though I had a feeling that I was supposed to know it. It was obvious to me right away that this face was supposed to be stored somewhere in my memory, but that was all I got. I knew that I had met her before… But 'where' or 'when' just wouldn't come to me. A kind of straining dizziness was all that I got from trying to remember it…

_(It's just like yesterday during that concert,) _I realized. _(Someone I met before but can't remember…I wonder who she could be…)_

"Mister?" Her big, interested eyes were so focused on me, it was almost weird. "Something wrong? You look confused."

"Uhm… No, it's nothing. Now…

I decided to dismiss the thought for now and help her out with whatever question she had first. So I bent down, so the poor girl so she wouldn't have to stare up at me the whole time.

"Did you want to ask me something?"

"Well, yes!" She nodded and smiled cheerfully. "Mr. Spiky Hair…

Of _course _this was the first attribute she noticed.

"…have you seen Mr. Attorney around?"

I immediately felt like she was talking about me. I wanted to raise my hand and say, 'Right here!', but I quickly came to realize that I really shouldn't feel addressed because of such a general term. And that such a general term really wouldn't help that poor girl finding who she was searching for.

"Eh… I'd love to help you, but, you see, I know a _lot_ of Attorneys, so…"

The girl seemed to realize her mistake and didn't even let me finish my sentence when she already started correcting herself.

"Oh, right! I should probably describe him a bit more, shouldn't I? Well, let's see…

She looked up in the sky and started tapping the floor with her foot.

"Well… He's tall… And I rarely ever understand what he's saying!"

_(Still fitting a lot of people…)_

"Oh and he always has a real big cup of Hot Chocolate with him!"

I listened up, "Hot Chocolate?"

My face probably looked really confused right now. Still, I had the feeling that something was starting to click.

The girl had meanwhile crossed her arms. She was still looking up at the sky.

"Well, actually, it's really weird Hot Chocolate. It's not sweet… more like bitter. And doesn't taste like chocolate at all…" She looked at me again "…But it's hot!"

_(That's not Hot Chocolate, that's Coffee… Wait a second, __**Coffee**__?)_

The list of people she could possibly be talking about had just shrunk down significantly. To _one._

"I… think I know who you're searching for," I told the little girl. "Well, I saw him down at the river, about an hour ago, but I don't know where he's now."

"Aww, really?" She looked disappointed, "and I thought, he'd be here for sure…"

"What did you need from him?" I asked her. Armando wasn't really the kind of man to deal with little children like this in my eyes, so I was really curious about what she could possibly want.

She still had her arms crossed. "Well, the show is starting soon and I am a little tired… I thought if I ask him real nice, he'd maybe give me a little bit from his cup again…"

_(What?) _I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Especially the little word 'again'. (_Don't tell me that guy is feeding little girls __**Black Coffee**__?)_

"Last time, drinking from it worked so well! I wasn't the least bit tired afterwards! So I thought I might try it again…"

"It's better if you didn't." I assured her, wondering which one of his three bazillion blends that guy was on when he decided that giving an eight- or nine-year-old a sip from his mug would be a _good_ idea. "Believe me, I don't think your parents would be happy to know you drank that…"

"Oh…" The girl's eyes extended a little, before her head started to lower. Apparently a little disheartened by my statement, she looked at the floor. "You think Daddy wouldn't want it?"

"Well, if I was your Daddy at least, I definitely wouldn't want it."

"But…" she looked up at me again, with a certain sense of determination in her eyes. "Daddy always says 'Give it your all on stage'! That's why I really can't be tired right now!"

"Hm… on stage?" I realized what this meant. "So, you're one of the…"

She nodded, before I even had finished the sentence, and told me.

"Yes, I am going to perform now!" She put her hands to her waist and grinned. "And I am going to give my very best! So you'd better keep your eyes on me, Mr. Spiky Hair!"

"Uhm… Well… sure." I smiled. "I hope you'll have fun out there."

She nodded, "I will!"

"Trucy!"

And I froze.

The voice came from at least twenty meters away, presumably in the directions of the dressing tents. The call could have been directed to anyone around. I should have had no way of knowing who it was addressed to. But I did. All of a sudden, I did. I knew that the one they were addressing was the girl before me.

And that's why I froze.

_(T-Trucy…) _Something started moving in the back of my head _(T-That's…That name is…)_

I had already suspected, no, _known_ that I had seen this girl before. Somewhere, sometime, in some situation. But now that I had heard her name – and I was _sure_ that this was her name – I was more than just certain. I met her before. I met her before… some…where…

"Oh… I have to go!" I faintly made out that she was smiling at me, but I barely could process that information at the moment. All I know is that she suddenly ran off and, I think, waved at me.

"Bye, Mr. Spiky Hair! Please cheer for me!"

I heard her laugh as she sprinted towards the dressing tents… This should have been the only thing I heard, except for the meaningless noise of the crowd chatting. But I could hear something else as well.

As if someone was standing in front of me, I heard a man. Talking to me.

"_I believe the curtains will be lifting anytime now. I am in your capable hands, Mr. Wright."_

A headache. A horrible, horrible headache. I had to hold my head with both hands, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to bear it. It was an incredibly sharp pain. Yet, I kept trying to think hard and remember what in the world it was that my memory was blocking out.

_('In my capable hands'? Who said that…? Who? …A client? But I don't remember who! T-That's weird… I remember every single one of my clients! I never forget even one of them… So… why can't I remember who said that to me? I… need… to… know… Ungh…)_

Ah, there where the Psyche Locks again. Laughing at me. As if to tell me 'No, you don't!'. I wanted to get past them. I really wished I could find out what they were keeping me from revealing. But all I found out by staring at them was that I had no way to break them. No matter how hard I tried to remember, the locks fought against it and I felt every counterstrike they dealt. Every question I tried to ask came back and caused my headache to multiply. I couldn't get beyond the locks. And that was what assured me that whatever 'secret' was hiding behind them was important. Something that I probably needed to know if I want to figure out what was going on. An important piece of information I already had, but couldn't access…

There had to be a reason why.

_(I want to know… what is going on… Argh! …This girl… T-Trucy…Who is she? Why did she trigger… this? She and this Gavin Guy… They're both a part of 'this', whatever it may be! I need to remember…)_

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

It was no use. I came close to sinking to my knees, and that was when I decided that I had to stop and give in. I let go of the 'lead' and my desperate grip on the locks. The pain lessened and I carefully tried to return to reality.

As I became aware of my surroundings again, I noticed that they crowd around me, which had previously been rambling like there was no tomorrow, was silent all of a sudden. Like something else had completely captured their attention. It wasn't hard to figure out what.

_(Are they… shooting the scene already?) _I wondered. _(How long was I out?)_

I opened my eyes and tried to regain my orientation, as I heard the actors… who I identified as Maya and another young woman, who I had never met before, from their voices, talking.

"It's sad that a selfish woman like you will never know how wonderful being in love is! Your beautiful world of moonlight and roses will just be a dark land of death! How could a world without daylight be beautiful!"

"Your words won't deceive me, Princess! I know the truth! We will lead this world into a golden age of glory! I am sick of listening to the likes of you… You and your oh-so-precious Samurai! Sleep… SLEEP FOREVER!"

Hadn't I known that the script for this was written by Maya, I would have been worried now. This absolutely overdone scene featured a character which I recognized as the Pink Princess, as well as Maya. Yes. The Pink Princess versus Maya. As weird as it may sound. And Maya was being so dramatic, she was practically chewing the scenery. I would have said that that she, despite performing experience, didn't make a very good actress, but, then again, this was just Steel Samurai, not Hamlet. And the Pink Princess wasn't exactly a talented speaker either.

My sight was getting less blurry again and I tried to get a close view of them. Which proved to be difficult, since I located them standing up on a cliff, almost 50 meters above from where I was, close to the waterfall. They were probably shooting up there for dramatic reasons. The angle was too sharp from where I was standing, so I couldn't see what they were doing, only make out their silhouettes and hear the voices.

"You people of Neo Olde Tokyo failed to return our sister's treasure to us and now have to carry the consequences for your vile actions! But now that the Kusanagi Blade has returned to its rightful place, we are ready to give your people a last chance! Just surrender the Artemis Crystal to us, Princess, and I will release your ally from my control!"

"You are mistaken, Lady of the Moon. In more ways than you can imagine!"

"Give me the crystal!"

"I can't give to you what I do not possess!"

"YOU LIE!"

_(Well, I know who is **not **winning the Oscar for the most subtle acting.)_

I have to get something off my chest now. You know those people who always claim that my shouting in court was over the top and that you couldn't possibly get any more over-dramatic, even if you tried? Well, I had just decided to get myself a copy of this movie as soon as possible and then show it to those people. Maybe that would shut them up.

_(Do I have any other choice than to stay here and watch this?)_

I looked behind me. There were children. Lots and lots of them. And quite a few were wearing MAYOI shirts. And there were a lot of pebbles that they could throw at their feet. They hadn't noticed me yet, but if I tried to get past them now that everybody – except the actors up there, of course – was so perfectly calm and silent…

_(…I guess not.)_

There was some noise and grunting going on up on the cliff. Apparently a battle scene. Not that I could see what they were actually doing… It looked like Maya and the Pink Princess actress – at least I hoped that it really was an actr_ess _this time, considering that Powers would have to play the part of the Steel Samurai himself. The Pink Princess and Maya were just bouncing around. Maybe because the computer effects were missing?

"HA! Take this, fiend! ROYAL CAMELLIA SLASH!"

"Is that all you got? MOON SILVER REFLECTION!"

"ROYAL PEACH BLOSSOM STRIKE!"

"MOONLIGHT MIRROR ESCALATION!"

I suddenly harbored the strong suspicion that Maya, in fact, didn't know what "Escalation" meant.

"Oh! That was too close..."

"I won't miss next time, Princess, I promise!"

"Curse it… Take this! GRACEFUL PRINCESS HALATION!"

"MIRROR REVERSE ECHO!"

_(Random Word Shouting...)_

They could have just as well been playing scrabble up there. I tried to keep reminding myself that this show was intended for young kids, but I couldn't help but think that this wasn't doing said kid's development any good. But maybe I was just not looking at this from the wrong angle. Maybe this attack calling was actually a quite clever method of announcing their moves? Maybe it wasn't random at all, but rather a kind of carefully picked 'code' that only kids of a certain age could understand?

…Or maybe I had been standing here for a few too many 'ROYALS' and 'MOONS' too long already. Yeah, that was probably it.

It went on like this for a long, long time.. I was already about to just sit down in the grass again, when, seemingly out of nowhere, a new voice joined the party.

"STOOOOOOP!"

I listened and looked up. Mostly because this was finally a piece of dialogue that actually made sense to me. Trying to catch a glance of whoever the new actress was, I stepped back a few inches and focused on the cliff, as I listened to her talking, or, rather, crying,

"Both of you, please stop this! You shouldn't fight! Not like this!"

_(Huh?)_

I had finally taken back enough steps to catch a glimpse of the third speaker and what I heard her say sounded… weird, to say the least, especially for a franchise that was _all_ _about _battle. I looked as closely as I could at this enigmatic out-of-place pacifist, until I finally recognized the figure.

_(Hey…It's her!)_

The little girl who had asked me about Armando before… Trucy, wasn't it? The name still caused me dizziness….

She was up on the cliff, giving her most convincing sad face – and it was actually very convincing – and holding a little speech to the battling women, as I listened in interest to what she had to say.

"You'll just end up hurting each other! Soldier's pride is bad if it makes you do this! You… You two mustn't battle! Nothing good can come out of it if you harm each other!"

"Diana!" the Pink Princess yelled.

"Dia!" Maya shouted.

I looked up and watched idly.

I caught myself wondering about the story behind this new character and quickly told myself not to get too engaged. I probably wouldn't ever get to see the finished movie in my life, so I'd rather not start _liking_ it now. Still, it was hard _not _to like this character. Firstly, she wasn't speaking in random phrase generator speech; secondly, she encouraged the characters to do something else than head-butting each other; and, lastly, she was just cute. Also, she really hadn't been kidding when she told me before that she was going to give her best. She was by far the most convincing actress yet. So I kept my eyes on the girl.

I'm not exactly sure what it was that happened next – thanks, horrible watching angle – but, for some reason, the girl suddenly shrieked and starting stumbling backwards towards the cliff. I wondered what kind of computer effects could be missing here, but she was obviously trying to get away from something. Maya's character was apparently shocked, since she suddenly exclaimed "DIA!" once again when the girl drew closer to the cliff.

I knew what kind of scene this was. Now, any second, some kind of Deus Ex Machina was going to show up and save the little girl from whatever was frightening her and then she could continue talking about peace and friendship. I had been forced to watch enough episodes of those series already to know that this always happens. Always.

So, that's how it should have been. But that's not what actually happened.

The little girl kept stumbling closer to the cliff. Right until she was at its verge.

And that's when I saw her trying to take another step back. Her right foot touched nothing. She was starting to stagger.

_(N...NO!)_

"WATCH OUT!" I heard myself shout.

But it was too late. There was no way she would regain her grip now. The girl lost her balance slipped off the muddy edge.

The next few seconds rushed by incredibly quickly. The moment I saw her sliding off the cliff, I knew only one thing: The moment she'd hit the ground, she would die. She would be gone and there would be no way to help her, to undo it…

I ran. I ran as fast as I could, arms outstretched, ready to jump and catch her.

I never caught her.

But she never hit the ground either.

What happened in those few seconds? I'm not entirely sure. Probably because I wasn't supposed to know it. But as my heart was racing there in panic, I was about to jump and catch her out of the air… She vanished.

Yes, that's what happened. She just disappeared in midair. In a rain of sparkles.

_(W-What?)_

I heard the people behind me gasp in awe, as I stopped running, staring at the spot the girl had been just a second ago. The Kimono she has been wearing had stayed behind and was now slowly floating down, along with the mysterious sparkles the girl had apparently turned into.

Catching a few with my hands made it obvious what those 'mysterious sparkles' really were:

Glitter. Just a bunch of tiny confetti, painted in metallic color, in order to make the air look like it was sparkling.

Baffled, I looked up to the cliff again. The girl was gone. Just gone with the wind. And she left behind glitter.

_(Where… How…What…Why!)_

"ALAKA-CATASTROPHE!"

This sudden yell was rather loud and outraged, so my ears pretty much obligated me to search for the source. I had barely finished turning around when I already almost got some kind of staff slammed right into my face. It luckily stopped right before my nose, but I still felt assaulted and backed off. The one holding the staff – I only really took notice of him after I finished backing off – was a man with long, black hair, wearing a rather striking, yellow cape and a fitting top hat… a magician, apparently.

_(Uhm… Didn't I see this guy on TV before…? Some time back…)_

"YOU!"

I backed off a little more, afraid that he might actually want to smack me in the face with his staff.

"M-Me…?"

"YES, YOU!" He glared at me with a fury, enough fury to cause a forest fire. "Have you even the faintest idea how long this trick took us to prepare it?"

"T-Trick…?"

I didn't have too much time to think about it, because the next yell directed at me was already on its way.

"NOEZ!"

Someone with a voice I knew all too well came from the right, obviously to join the Magician in insulting me. "Who let the N00B on the set?"

_(Oh no, please not him…)_

It was Sal Manella, the overweight director of the Steel Samurai Franchise. And he appeared to be about the same level of 'pleased' as the yellow guy right in front of me.

"THIS! F41LS!" Sal Manella screamed at me from the right.

"YES! A horrendous failure!" The yellow Magician screamed at me from the front.

_(…Meep…)_

I was desperately wishing for somewhere to hide right now. Being almost beaten with a red stick was bad enough, but now I was also being verbally assaulted. In Stereo.

The worst part was that I still wasn't entirely sure what I had just done and I probably wasn't going to find out anytime soon either, since I couldn't really understand what either of them were trying to tell me. I had to keep backing off, because the two of them kept coming closer.

"This was intended to be the most astonishing, most breath-taking moment ever captured by a mere camera, but now all this unfortunate roll of film captured is your misshaped personage! You ruined everything!"

"Eh…"

"GTFOFH, suxor, ASAP! _"

"Eh…Eh…"

And now someone was coming from the left. I was prepared for the worst, what do I know, a raging producer or the furious cameraman or something among those lines. But thankfully, it was someone completely different from what I had in mind.

"Wait! Uncle Valant, Mr. Director!"

Still, it was quite confusing to see her suddenly approaching from that direction. Who I am talking about? I am talking about the little girl who I had tried to 'save' just thirty seconds ago. Trucy. And she was wearing a white dress and a hairclip to go with her brooch now.

"Don't be mad at him," she told the two men before me with a cheerful smile on her lips. "It's not too bad! I can do it again. I'll be ready in ten minutes!"

"Y-You…?" I could only stare at her. I alternately pointed at her and the cliff as I kept stuttering incoherent fragments of sentences. " How did you… When did you… Weren't you… just now…"

"Now?" She grinned up at me. "Mr. Spiky Hair, did you like my show?"

"S-Show… Yes, right… Show… It was… nice…"

I put my hand to my chest and took a deep breath.

_(Heart….Attack…)_

She wasn't hurt… She was alright…

While Manella didn't take much notice of the girl – and whatever little glance he paid her made me think that the thoughts he had on mind upon seeing a little girl in a white dress probably weren't exactly clean – the Magician turned his head towards her, proclaiming,

"Even if you can prepare in less than ten minutes, Trucy, you know how extraordinarily complex the remaining groundwork for this trick is! We'll need a full hour to set everything up again!"

Trucy turned towards the Magician.

"Let me help then!" She downright demanded. "We can do it in half the time together!"

"Hm…

The magician, whom Trucy called 'Uncle Valant', turned towards me again, the anger still written all over his face.

"You…" He put his staff under my chin again. "I have no idea _who _you are or who allowed you to pass through here… But let me inform you of one simple thing: You have thirty minutes to leave our stage. And I don't want to see a single black hair of yours here after this time has passed."

With those words, the Magician, who was apparently named 'Valant', dynamically turned around, swung his staff and walked away in a hilariously pretentious manner. I would have found it downright funny, hadn't there been that _other guy_ who was still staring at me like I was the incarnation of all things bad in this world. Being looked 'down' upon like that by the textbook example of waaaay too many unpleasant stereotypes wasn't exactly a nice feeling. He finally just pointed at the people-filled area behind us, as if to say 'Go there and stay there'.

"P3Яm4b4nn'd!" He exclaimed, before turned around leaving in a less dignified, but still just as ridiculous manner as the yellow clad man before him.

I stayed behind, trying to figure out what 'P-Three-rm-Four-b-Four-ned' was supposed to mean. Was that some kind of secret hacker curse that would infect my computer at home with the MC-Bomber or something?

At the very least, something told me that my 'special permission' had just been revoked…

There was a small footway that led down from the cliff that the scene was being shot on to here, where I was standing. That's where Maya came running from. And she looked rather hectic and shocked.

"Nick!"

"Oh… Hi, Maya."

"W-What was that just now?" She asked me as soon as she was in my range. "I mean… You jumped right in front of the camera!"

This statement explained a _lot__,_but also tempted me to look around.

_(…There was a camera placed here? At that weird angle?) _

"If you wanted to get a part in the movie you could have just told me! I'm sure we could squeeze you in somewhere…"

I quit my search for the enigmatic sharp-angle camera and turned towards my friend before me again.

"I don't want to be in the movie. It's just that when you see _a girl falling down a cliff_, you usually just don't stand around and watch!"

_(That reminds me… I was the only one who came to help her, wasn't I?)_

"Huh?" Maya didn't seem to get what I was meaning. "Nick! Didn't you hear the announcement?"

"…Announcement?"

"Right before the shooting started!" She told me. "They told everyone to remain calm during this scene's stunt and that the actress involved is a professional! They even put the speakers to maximum volume for it."

"…Oh…"

I couldn't put together a more articulate response to this, since I felt incredibly dumb at the moment.

_(That must have been during my blackout…)_

"Nick… everything Okay?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine." I turned around, towards where little Trucy and her Uncle had went. "So… that girl from the scene just now…"

"Oh, you mean Trucy!" Maya grinned as soon as the topic came up. "Isn't she just the cutest?"

"You said she was a 'professional'… Does that mean she's some kind of Stuntwoman?"

"Actually, she's an Illusionist!"

I turned towards Maya again and looked at her. "An Illusionist?"

"A 'Stage Magician', Nick!" Maya laughed. "It's a person who-"

"Yes, Yes, I know what an Illusionist is." I quickly told her, before she could go on to ramble about things that I already know. "I just didn't think that such a little girl could be one…"

"Trucy's really amazing!" Awe was written all over Maya's face. "She can make stuff appear, disappear, she always knows which card I've just drawn and she can cut off her own thumb without bleeding!"

_(You will never get behind how this trick works, will you?)_

"Hm… There's one thing I don't quite get, Maya," I pondered aloud. "What do you need Stage Magicians for in this? I mean, the Steel Samurai and its spin-off shows usually handle all effects with the Computer, don't they?"

"CGI is so overdone, Nick." Maya explained to me. "Every movie has that nowadays, it's nothing special anymore! That's why we decided early in the production to shoot as much as possible without them!"

"So you hired professional Magicians for the effects instead?"

Maya nodded. "Well, it's impossible to do the Samurais' special techniques and moves that way, because they need to look the same as in the shows, so we still have to use CGI in most battle scenes. But for stuff like that scene just now, we have Trucy and her uncle."

"I see…"

That wasn't a bad idea at all, actually. Maya was right, every single movie that was made nowadays used almost exclusively computer generated effects. Resorting to different ways of creating illusions was probably a good way to score points with critics, if done right.

"Actually, we just wanted them to work on the effects in the background," Maya continued explaining, when her eyes suddenly lit up. "But when I saw Trucy, I just knew that we _needed _her for the part!"

"What part?"

"The part of Diamond Diana, of course, stupid!" She was still grinning. "The mysterious orphan who wanders through the streets of Neo Olde Tokyo, often appearing seemingly out of nowhere and asking everyone she comes across where her mother is!"

"That's… creepy."

Maya looked eager to explain more.

"But she's also incredibly cute and friendly! You know, I don't want to spoil too much, but…"

"Spoil all you want." I told her "It's not like I was ever gonna watch the movie."

"WHAAAAT?"

That one came out wrong. Maya reacted like I had just personally offended her in the worst way possible.

"NICK! YOU…"

"Maya… I won't watch it because I probably won't be here anymore once it comes out." I quickly told her. "I need to get back home… remember?"

"…Oh!" Maya jerked up before she lowered her head a little. "S-Sorry… For a moment, I forgot that you're not him…"

The last part of the second sentence was whispered, and I didn't really understand it, but the context was enough to know what she had said. I regretted having brought up that topic again, since she suddenly looked so miserable again…

"…Maya?"

"A-Anyway!" Maya head rose again rather quickly "Diana is a really important character in the movie! Because it eventually turns out that she actually is the human incarnation of the Artemis Crystal, the treasure of night!"

"Treasure… of… night?"

I tried to make the big question mark on my face as obvious as possible so she wouldn't just roll me over with even more information I couldn't understand. The result, however, was the exact opposite.

"OK, OK, let's start at the beginning!" Maya declared. "Long ago, there was the Golden Goddess, the master of all light in the world! She had ultimate power over day and night! But then, the Golden Goddess suddenly disappeared and left each of her three daughters with one of the three treasures of day! Then, she hid the one treasure of night! The legends says that whoever has all three treasures of day can find the Golden Goddess once more, but only the one who has all four treasures will have unlimited access to her powers as well!"

"So, naturally, people run amok to get their hands on those treasures?"

"Yes, and one day, the oldest daughter of the Goddess, Sen the Silver, is killed in an attempt to protect her treasure, the Kusanagi Blade of Valfor! With her last power, she comes to the Steel Samurai and entrusts him with the celestial sword in order to make sure that no evil may touch it and she instructs him to never surrender it to anyone, no matter what! Many years later, however, the two remaining sisters, Chinami the Crimson and Mayoi the Mauve come and try to retrieve their sister's sword and a fierce battle begins! The Steel Samurai, the Pink Princess and the Nickel Samurai fight to protect their home from the forces of those evil sorceresses, but through their treasures, the sisters are too strong to be defeated! Mayoi's Yata Mirror allows her to capture souls and control the bodies of her victims, while Chinami's Yasakani Magatama lets her view into hearts, manipulate them and break them! In battle, they even lose the Nickel Samurai to the power of the Mirror! However, over the course of the story, Mayoi slowly makes friends with Diana, who, again, is often appearing before the Steel Samurai and the Pink Princess! And that's how the two of them get through to her and cause her to have a change of heart! And then-"

"You wrote all of this yourself?" I quickly asked her.

I had already been lost at the part with the soul stealing mirror. And I guess I was lucky to even have been able to follow the plot _that _far.

Maya looked proud. "Yeah! All of it! Of course, Mr. Manella tweaked the script at a few parts… But it's mostly my doing! Really!"

For a 'busy girl', Maya had a lot of time on her hands, if she seriously wrote all of that down with her own hands.

"So, that little girl in that story is a treasure?"

"The most powerful of them all!" Maya confirmed. "The one to rule them all, the one to find them, the one to…"

"Makes me wonder why you didn't cast Pearls for that role, actually."

"Hm?" Maya looked up with me with big, confused eyes. "What do you mean?"

I made some gestures, as I explained what I thought. "Well, Pearls seems to fit the description of that girl you gave me, being all mysterious and cute at the same time, you know. Also, I'm sure that this outfit Trucy wore up there would look pretty good on her."

Maya, however, didn't seem to understand what I meant. She blinked a few times, apparently wondering, if I was gonna provide some kind of further explanation for her, she came a step closer.

"Nick…" She raised one of her eyebrows in a bewildered way. "Excuse me, but…Who's 'Pearls'?"

…

"…W-What…?" I stared at Maya. "What did you just… say?"

"Well, you mentioned someone called 'Pearls'," Maya answered. "I was just wondering who that is, that's all."

"P…Pearl!" I shook my head. "M-Maya, I am talking about Pearl Fey! Pearly!"

"…Pearly…?"

There are some things you just are convinced that you would never hear a person say. Some of them because it just doesn't fit with who they are, and some of them because they just shouldn't have any reason to say it. I had encountered the first type of this often enough the past two days to get used to it. But I hadn't been prepared for the second type to hit now. Not like this.

Looking back, I should have seen it coming though. It was just so obvious that this would happen if I asked a question like this.

And still, I couldn't believe what I had heard.

I shook a very perplexed Maya by her shoulders.

"Yes, Pearl Fey, your little cousin! Nine Years old, light brown hair, most talented Medium trainee in all of Kurain!"

"…What?" Maya stepped back from me, getting free from my, maybe a little bit too tight grip on her shoulders. "Nick…I don't have any little cousins! Iris and Dahlia are both older than me." She turned her head to the side, mumbling, "…And I don't think they have a sister…"

"Y-You don't…?"

My eyes remained on Maya, as I sincerely hoped her to suddenly burst into laughter and tell me that she was just joking, but this moment wouldn't come. She was being serious. And I knew what that meant.

'Pearl Fey' didn't exist. Not in this 'world'. Of course…I should have known all along that she didn't.

_(I…I see… Pearls was born in 2009… Eight years after the DL-6 incident. With everything that changed about the Fey Clan here... Her not being born is the logical conclusion of that. But still… still…)_

"But I saw her!" I suddenly blurted out. "Down at the river! She was there! She was there and she knew your name and mine… She was-"

…_off._

Only now did I remember. That eerie feeling that I had when Pearls had been talking to me down at the river… It had felt like something from a bad dream.

That wasn't Pearl Fey. The girl who led me down there… this hadn't been her.

But who was it then?

A mysterious child, appearing out of nowhere… I felt like I had been thrusted right into Maya's script. But this wasn't even half as bad as knowing the fact that Pearls, the real Pearls… wasn't _there_.

Cute, shy, intelligent, friendly, love-obsessed Pearl Fey… was gone. She didn't even _die_. She had been just _erased_ out of history. Without a single trace she was ever meant to exist left…

_(P-Pearls…)_

"Nick?" Maya looked concerned. "Is everything alright…?"

_(No, it isn't… Pearls is gone and you don't even… notice…)_

All the lives that had been spared and become better because of what changed here… Ema and Pearls… were they the prices that those other lives had been paid with? Was this fair? I couldn't believe that it was. I just didn't want to.

"…Nick , if you're not feeling well, I can bring you down to our manor. You should probably lie down for a while…"

_(I shouldn't tell her about Pearl. There's no reason to worry her with something like that.)_

"N-No, it's alright," I assured Maya. "I'm just a little tired. That's all…"

"But this is just one reason more to accept the offer, Mr. Wright."

Maya and me both looked up and turned. Neither of us had seen Misty Fey approaching from the side.

Mrs. Fey standing to our right, dressed in a Kimono –the one she had mentioned during her testimony, maybe? – with her usual calm look on her face.

"Oh! Mom!" Maya waved and walked over to her. "What brings you here?"

Mrs. Fey smiled at her daughter. "You have been shooting for so long today, I thought you might be hungry. Here."

She handed Maya a little thing, warped in paper. The smell made it obvious what it was.

"Ah! _Burger_!" Maya's eyes gleamed in an insatiable way. The bun was unwrapped and gobbled down faster than one can say 'Please Chew'.

Barely ten seconds later, Maya was, once again, grinning over both ears. She leapt at her mother, both arms outstretched.

"Thank you, Mom! You're the best!"

"Hahaha…"

Mother and daughter, embracing each other… I hadn't thought I would ever be able to see Maya doing this with her mother. Not after the DL-6 incident. And especially not after what happened last winter, in the Hazakura Temple.

The question I had asked myself just a few moments ago came to my mind again:

If Pearl and Ema were the price that had to be paid for this… was it worth it? Suddenly, I wasn't sure anymore if I could just answer this question with 'No'. Not while seeing Maya and her mother like this. But at the same time, I also didn't want the answer to be 'Yes'. That would have been cruel. Was there really no way to avoid making 'sacrifices'?

_(There isn't.) _Was the conclusion I came to. _(Because you can never tell what consequences a decision you make will cause__.__ And even if you could, there will still always be a downside… to everything.)_

"So, Mr. Wright…" As soon as Maya let go of her, Mrs. Fey turned to me. "…you said you were tired?"

"…"

I said nothing. I was too surprised about how… casually she accepted the fact that I was there in the first place.

_(She knows who 'I' am… shouldn't she be furious, or, at least, confused about what I am doing here?)_

She continued despite me not giving her an answer. "If it's like this, maybe you'd like to rest a little in the Fey Manor then? I was just about to make some tea of my sister's recipe."

_(Ah, Morgan Fey's Green Tea… so bitter, you lose your tongue.)_

I was about to decline and ask her why she was offering this to me, of all people, in the first place, but Mrs. Fey just looked so… so… so incredibly _nice and polite. _I couldn't just say 'No' to that calm, kind smile. That was impossible.

"Y-Yes. I'd be happy to…"

"Hahaha…"

Mrs. Fey looked at me. I got a little nervous, to be honest. I had a feeling like she was checking me for something… Suddenly I had the suspicion that she had some kind of ulterior motive for asking me to come with her. But, of course, she was just so nice, I couldn't help but keep quiet about that. Especially in front of her daughter Maya.

"Ah! Nick, you're leaving?" She looked a little upset. "But I wanted you to watch me…"

"To be honest, Maya, Sal Manella just banned me from the set… I think…" I really hoped that I had drawn the right conclusion from that man's gibberish. "So I couldn't watch you anyway. Sorry."

"Oh, because you jumped into the frame? Hm…" Maya seemed to be pondering about something, until she smirked at me again. "Alright! Don't worry, I'll handle that!"

"…?"

_(What are you going to do? Threaten to burn his comic book collection?…Wait, I'd rather not give her any ideas…)_

"You go with Mom for the time being, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Okay!"

Maya grinned as she raised her arm. She ran off, waving.

"I gotta get ready again now! See ya later, Nick!"

Now Maya was gone again. And I was left behind with her mother. Misty Fey. Still smiling at me as warmly as ever.

"If you would please follow me, Mr. Wright?"

"Alright..."

Through the masses of people – who were once again chatting loudly and thus not taking much notice of me – Misty Fey led me away from the shooting location, back into the village.

**May 2nd, 4:45pm  
Kurain Village  
Fey Manor**

"So… the person you mentioned in your testimony today was Maya?"

I finally got around asking Misty Fey that question. She turned towards me, her soft smile not changing the least bit.

"If that's what she told you, this is probably how it is."

"Yes, but what did _you _see, Mrs. Fey?" I asked her "I mean… What made you so certain that the one you saw was a Fey?"

"I felt it."

"…?"

Misty answered my puzzled face with an explanation.

"I felt that the person I saw had a certain amount of Spiritual Energy… That's why I thought that it was her."

"You can _feel _something like this?" I asked surprised.

"Energy isn't something that is confined in a being or object, Mr. Wright," she calmly told me. "It is there in them and around them, giving off a certain aura… Finding this aura is the way to sense the things the mere eye can't see."

"A…ha…"

"By the way, you really shouldn't keep this in your pocket, Mr. Wright."

I jerked when I heard her talk about _'this'_.

_(She doesn't mean the Magatama… does she?)_

"You might lose it if it slips out. You would do better putting it on a chain or necklace… I think I have a necklace of prayer beads in my room that I don't need. You could wear it with those, maybe?"

"N-No thank you…"

_(She __**is **__talking about the Magatama…)_

Just how did she know what I was carrying around in my pocket? Misty Fey… A Master of Spiritualism alright. If anybody deserved that title, it was her.

"Hm… yes, you might be right. A necklace of prayer beads probably wouldn't fit you, would it? Still…" There was something… _piercing _to her eyes when she went on. "..Why do you carry something like this with you in the first place, I wonder?"

"…"

How to answer now?

"It… was a present." I told her truthfully.

"Oh. I see…"

Without touching the topic again, she led me on through the large manor. The silence that built up this way was beyond unpleasant, for some reason… I had to break it again. That's when my eyes rested on the book she carried under her arms.

"So… you're writing picture books?"

"Yes." Mrs. Fey smiled and nodded, "I also illustrate them myself. It is just a hobby of mine, actually, but one I enjoy a lot."

"What kind of stories do you write?"

"Fairytales, mostly," she explained. "I usually write the plots myself, but for my latest work, I have decided to adapt an already existing story instead."

"Also a fairytale?"

She nodded and showed me the book under her arm.

"I have it right here," she explained. "I already finished it, but have yet to send the manuscript to the publisher. There are still a few flaws I would like to work out first… Would you like to take a look at it? It doesn't have to be right here and now. I would just be happy to receive some feedback."

"Uhm…" I said surprised, examining the book she offered me and hesitated a short moment, before taking it. "…Sure, why not."

'_Haruka's Cherry Tree' _the cover read. Sounded like a typical children's story. After looking at the cover illustration for some seconds – It was really a pretty picture – I put the book away into my suitcase.

_(I will take a look at this later.)_

I had to think of Pearls again. She would surely have been envious to know that I got to look at a book by 'Elise Deauxnim' before the actual release…

"Here we are."

We stood before the door to what was probably a living room or something similar. The sound of a burning fireplace was audible through the door. It was probably pleasantly warm in there.

"Please sit down and wait while I prepare the tea," Mrs. Fey told me as she opened the door. I nodded.

"Yes… Thank you."

Still looking at her, I stepped inside just to be greeted by a surprised voice.

"Wright?"

"Hm?"

I turned my head.

Suddenly, I had a feeling I knew why Mrs. Fey had wanted to bring me here… Well, not exactly the reason why she wanted me here at the manor, but the reason why she wanted me to come to this room.

Already sitting on the other side of the room with a cup of tea in his hand was Miles Edgeworth.

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. But it was partially cut before it ripped.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Maya's Letter  
_Was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

_*)Misty Fey's Book  
_A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

_*)?  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

_*)Diego Armando  
_Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

_*)Pearl Fey(?)  
_Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

_*)Trucy  
_A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

* * *

_The first thing that I'd like to get out of the way is the name of the "Seishigawa River" introduced in the last chapter. I noticed that some apparently searched through Kanji-Lexica in order to find out what it means… which is a little troublesome, since there are quite a lot of Kanji with that pronunciation, with several different meanings. So, in order to avoid misunderstandings, here's how I intend that river to be written in Japanese: __誓詞川 _

_So. That's how it's written, that's how it should be looked up. ^^; Excuse the confusion. _

_Anyway, somebody mentioned that the Japanese seems forced in some places. I excuse if this is the case, but also remember that I only use Japanese in context with Kurain and the Steel Samurai, two topics where this language is also canonically used in the games. Even the Nickel Samurai's pants were called "Hakama" in case 2-4 (which I was very happy about, by the way.) so I don't think I am gravely violating the spirit of the games by throwing in one or two Japanese words in those contexts. For me, part of the charm of the Ace Attorney games is finding the pieces of Japanese culture that shimmer through the localization. Without that, the games wouldn't be the same to me. _

_In any case, Steel Samurai movie. _

_There were tons and tons of subtle and not-so-subtle references to Anime, Games and Japanese Media Clichés in general in there. Actually, I don't even remember all of them. But, I know that I, among other stuff, ripped off quite a few plot points from Sailor Moon and even almost word-to-word quoted from the show twice. (You may be wondering why there's so much Sailor Moon Influence in there. The reason is that over here, in German Speaking Europe, Sailor Moon is considered THE archetypical of Fantasy/Transforming Superhero Anime, so I associate most of the Anime Clichés of this Genre with this show.) I never watched any Tokusatsu Shows, which is why I couldn't put in any, let's say, Power Rangers/Super Sentai or Kamen Rider References, but I think this does it as well. I also referenced some Japanese Mythology in there, mirroring how a lot of Anime movies draw from Japanese Legends. _

_The part were Maya rambles about the plot… I guess, you should read that like Oldbag-Dialogue, because that's probably what it sounded like to Phoenix. XD _

_Alright, so, Pearly was, in fact, not Pearly. Which means that, no, there will be no adorably, sugary cute attempts of her to pair off our favorite lawyer with our favorite Medium in this fic. What I, however, give you, is Trucy. Eight-years old Trucy, to be exact. _

_Because Trucy is just a pretty cool girl. Saves disbarred Lawyers from starving to death and ain't afraid of anything._

_OK, it's partly her fault that Phoenix was "fired" as she put it, but, then again, one could also say that it was partly Pearls' fault that Misty Fey died. So I with great innocence comes great danger… or something._

_I'm rambling too much. I should just shut up and wait for your opinions on your chapter.  
So… that's what I'll do now._

_Neni Over and Out for today. _


	20. Relationships

Could love for tea be predetermined?

I would never have imagined that I'd ever see anyone drink Morgan Fey's tea without flinching, save Morgan Fey herself, of course. Then, there was also this calmness that he was emitting as he drank it. The vibe was as gentlemanly as always.

Miles Edgeworth. He obviously didn't need any ruffles or extraordinarily expensive suit in order to appear dignified and, to say it bluntly, just cool. But then again, he had always been a rather serious, formal person, even back when we were children. After all, he already used words like "amateur" on a regular basis before I even knew what it meant or how to spell it. Though, that might be saying more about me than about him.

"I see… so you actually came," I heard Edgeworth say. He took a sip of his tea after finishing the sentence.

I looked behind myself. Misty Fey had left; I was standing there in the door all by myself. Closing it behind me, I came over to him, sitting down on a chair on the other side of the table.

"What do you mean by 'actually came'?" I asked him on my way.

Edgeworth put the Teacup – obviously a rather old, Asian piece – down onto the table before continuing. "I thought you would show up here sooner or later today. I had some suspicions when I saw how Maya handed you this note."

"Y-You know about that?"

I was surprised to hear him talking about this. Given that Maya claimed to have avoided him ever since noon, he would have had to actually see her giving it to me in order to be aware of it. How could he possibly know about Maya passing me that note?

Apparently, I was easy to read for Edgeworth right now, since he replied in a way that made it seem like he had heard my last few sentences worth of thoughts.

"I wanted to have a word with Von Karma, so I tried to approach the two of you after the trial. Unfortunately she had already left by the time I arrived. That's when I saw how Maya Fey passed you a sheet of paper. I simply did the math after that."

"I see…"

A chain of thoughts was set into motion in my head by what Edgeworth had just told me.

_(He wanted to talk to Franziska Von Karma. This has got to have something to do with their fathers' rivalry for sure…)_

This was when Edgeworth addressed me again.

"So? Have you talked to Maya yet?"

I looked up when I hear him say this. Then, I nodded.

"Yes. We met down at that one river…"

He interrupted me.

"…By the single Cherry Tree, I suppose?"

"Tree…?" I quickly recalled the place where Maya and I had met. I should have rather not, since my back started hurting again as soon as I had reconstructed the image of the tree it banged against in my mind, but at least I could now nod and answer, "Eh… Yeah, now that you mention it, there really was a tree down there... With pink blossoms, if I remember right."

_(And, now that I think about it… That little girl who looked like Pearls really called them Cherries…)_

"I understand…"

"Huh?"

Edgeworth's voice sounded weirdly interested in this little detail for some reason. This struck me as odd. Why should someone like Edgeworth have any thoughts on whether there was a tree at our meeting place or not? While I still wondered how that could possibly be relevant, I saw how he closed his eyes, apparently thinking of something. He picked up his cup again and took a sip of tea.

"This place, Wright… You might not remember this, but this place has a meaning. One that could clear up the question about Maya Fey's reason for trying to contact you."

"A meaning?" I asked.

"I am not sure, but if I remember correctly, this spot of the river bench is a popular place for making promises of all kinds. Mostly due to an old fairytale revolving around it. The villagers believe that it will support them in their efforts to keep those promises."

"…!"

My head rose a little when I heard this. I felt like a light bulb had been switched on in my mind.

_(A promise… between the two of us? Is that what Maya __**really **__wanted to talk about down there?)_

Edgeworth saw my reaction and nodded, as if he had, again, read the look on my face. He even smiled a little.

"This is quite suspicious, isn't it? More and more leads point towards Maya Fey indeed having lied about not knowing you personally."

"You are still investigating on this?" I asked Edgeworth. "Maya's and my 'relationship', I mean."

The thought that Edgeworth might, in fact, still be trying to extract information about Maya and me from every little one of our actions… I didn't like it. Not in the least. It made me feel uncomfortable about talking to him. I now sympathized even more with her for having been trying to avoid him all day.

Edgeworth just shrugged, "Of course I am. You saw her reaction during today's trial, didn't you? It is rather obvious that my deduction was at the very least partly correct."

"Yes, but let us get just one thing straight," I told Edgeworth calm, but firmly, leaning a little bit forward, towards him. "Maya and I are not a couple."

"I never claimed you were," Edgeworth returned. "I am just convinced that Maya Fey is still holding back information."

"And you will try to get your hands on that information at all cost, won't you?" I noticed how the tone in my own voice had started to change. A hint of hostility had mixed in now, making me sound a tiny little bit aggressive. For a moment I wondered if it wouldn't be better to just stop myself from talking on. But I didn't. "Just like you did in court today. And once you find a chance to talk to her, you'll question and press her again, regardless of how she feels about it, right?"

"Hm?"

I saw how Edgeworth looked up from his Teacup, straight at me. After that, he stayed silent, keeping his eyes on me patiently. He was apparently waiting for me to say more.

This was my chance. I _had _to confront him about this. Especially not knowing that Maya, even here, believed in me. Not settling this with Edgeworth for her now would have felt like letting her down.

"What you did in court today…You shouldn't have done that, Edgeworth." I finally said. I tried to give Edgeworth the most serious look I had in stock. "...Maya. You were too harsh on her. You shouldn't have put her through that. Who knows what consequences this might end up having for her?"

Attentively, Edgeworth listened to my words, before finally slightly lowering his head and turning away from me a little.

"Hm," he closed his eyes and sighed. "She didn't leave me much of a choice, Wright. You know exactly what kind of effects it would have had on the trial, had I allowed the cross-examination to just end like this. To prove Maya's presence was the only effective way to refute Lilie Heatherd's testimony."

"But she cried because of it."

Edgeworth reacted to this in a way I wouldn't have expected him too. Turning his head away even a bit more, I could still see how his face turned a little tense… was that _remorse_ I saw there?

"She… did?" he asked, looking rather uncomfortable.

"…You tried hard to ignore it, didn't you?"

"…"

I was surprised to realize that somehow I had suddenly gained the "dominance" over this dialogue. I really hadn't known that Edgeworth would be that hit if I pointed out how hurt Maya was to him… Was it because she now meant something to him? As a friend? Or rather, as his 'Partner's' cousin… similar how Pearls meant something to me.

If somebody had told me that I made Pearls cry, when I had been trying to forget about it… Yes, my reaction would have been pretty similar.

"Edgeworth," I looked straight at him, "I talked to Maya about what happened yesterday. And she knows nothing. She delivered the letter, but that's it. Even if her presence contradicts Heatherd's testimony, there are still issues that you can't explain with it, like Lana's knife being the murder weapon and how anybody but her could have entered. I'm sorry to say it, but you tortured Maya for absolutely nothing."

"…This isn't something we can determine already, Wright."

"…?"

I had a faint idea of what he was talking about, but it wasn't strong enough to prevent my face from taking on a rather confused expression. In any case, Edgeworth went on to take another sip from his tea and look at me again.

"Details are important. You should know this," he told me. "The fact that Maya Fey was present has to be proven to the court without doubt. If we want to get behind how this case happened, we need to reconstruct a timeline of the events at the crime scene that day, as exactly as possible. Who knows… Maya's presence might end up being a crucial contradiction to something our next witness will claim."

He was right about everything he said and I knew it, yet I couldn't just nod and say 'Yes'. I just wasn't willing to accept that putting Maya under this horrible amount of pressure was 'the right thing to do'.

Now it was my turn to turn my head a little.

"Still… Couldn't you have asked her about the letter before the trial?" I looked at him again. "I'm sure she would have told you."

"Heh," Edgeworth faked a laugh. "After how much effort she put in causing us all to believe you were the person she despised most in the world? I doubt it."

Yet another statement that I couldn't add anything to. So Edgeworth took over the conversation again.

"It is important that I find out one thing, Wright. Maya Fey…" He looked straight at me, without blinking or even flinching. "Who is she really to you?"

A silence took over the room, only slightly disturbed by the sound of a burning fireplace. I knew that I could answer this question. But it still took me a while to do so.

I unintentionally lowered my head, as I thought about what I was going to say now.

I knew who 'Maya Fey' was to me. But 'this' Maya Fey?

I knew that she was a daughter of the Fey family, that she possessed Spiritual Powers, that she was a famous singer and a not-so-decent actress…

And I knew what her life 'would have been like' had just one certain incident, which was suddenly missing, taken place.

One day in December 2001, in the District Court, when an Earthquake stopped the elevator and captured three people inside, sealing all their futures and those of everyone connected to them…

But this event was gone now… 'here', and with it everything that 'could have been'.

'This' Maya… To be honest, I actually barely even knew her. I knew only the part of her that 'could have been'.

Sure, there had been certain euphoria when she had suddenly started acting exactly like 'my' Maya, dressed exactly like her. But now that she wasn't right in front of me anymore, I was able to understand again that she wasn't the exact same person. Even if she called me 'Nick' a hundred times…

But then again… I could still hear the way she laughed ring in my ear. And I could still see all her expressions… her cheerful face, her determined eyes, her upset look… They were all exactly the same. I had known Maya for years now… and even then I hadn't been able to make out any difference. She was alike to 'my' Maya in more than just looks. In much, much more.

So, who was 'this' Maya Fey to me? The same as the 'original' Maya? Or something different maybe? In the end, I decided to go with my initial answer.

"Maya… is my friend," I told Edgeworth, sounding as determined as I could.

"Something that I think we have already well established, yes," Edgeworth replied. "However… This brings up a very important question: _Why _is she your friend? Or, rather, why are you _her _friend?"

"Why we are friends…?"

I was still busy trying to figure out why this was so important, when Edgeworth had already taken another sip of his tea – why was it that drinking from a cup or mug made you automatically look cool and intimidating? – and continued to explain.

"Maya Fey and you have continually claimed to have had barely any contact to each other in the past three years. Therefore something like a 'friendship' could have impossibly developed between the two of you… unless you were both lying, for one reason or another. This whole issue would be a lot easier to clear up, would you be in full possession of your memory right now, but with things being the way they are, we can only guess."

_(Yes, they clearly lied about not knowing each other…But why? It somehow makes no sense…)_

"Why is my relationship to Maya so important anyway?" I decided to ask Edgeworth, "I mean… it is not like she was standing in any direct relation to the case."

"This is true. She might not be directly connected to how and why this crime was committed," he replied, going against all my expectations, before he continued. "_You_, however, are."

"Me?"

"I said it before, Wright," Edgeworth went on. "You are not capable of giving out any kind of information about this case at the moment, beyond the information which was gathered in the investigations. However, it is clear that this whole case seems to be revolving around you. The crime scene was your apartment, the victim one of the few known people you had any relevant friendly contact to in the past few months. And the accused is your own mentor. Even discounting the fact that you were chosen to prosecute despite the obvious probability that one of us might be the guilty party, this all sounds rather suspicious."

It suddenly came to me that Edgeworth was right… I hadn't thought too much about this before, but Edgeworth's and my alibi for the time of death was only verified long _after _they asked me to prosecute the case. At that point, I should have still been a potential suspect and not an available choice.

_(Something is fishy about this… Why was I chosen to prosecute? If what Edgeworth thinks is true, then Ema died because of a reason closely connected to 'me'… Wait, didn't Maya say something among those lines too?)_

'_You know! Like in those old spy movies! An agent investigates, gathers vital information and then… BAM! They are silenced by the bad guys! "_

That was what she had said.

"Ema was investigating on a case for me…" I said.

Edgeworth looked up from his cup, "She was?"

I nodded, "Yes. I know that because she had texted me at noon that day. She wanted to deliver evidence to me…"

"…But nothing like this was discovered at the crime scene." Edgeworth ended my sentence, putting his fingers to his forehead, like he was thinking about something. "Which means that the evidence was removed by someone before we discovered the crime scene."

"Yes," I nodded again. "I think you are right, Edgeworth. This case has a _lot_ to do with me. Ema was murdered because she wanted to deliver information. Information someone didn't want me to discover. If we just knew now what kind of information this was, it would make the case a lot easier, but…" I turned my head away and sighed, "I don't 'remember' and the only other person who could have told us would be Ema… who's gone now."

Edgeworth put down his Teacup when I said this. He then leaned forward a bit and looked at the table.

"Indeed." Like me, he looked a little disheartened. "A lot of things would be a lot easier if we knew what the victim knew. But, in the end, the victim is not able to give testimony to us. This is how it is in every murder case."

Seeing how talking about this wouldn't lead us anywhere, except into our own depression about how much info we lacked, I decided to start a new topic.

"Say, Edgeworth, I wanted to ask you... Why are you here in Kurain? Shouldn't you be down in the city, investigating?"

_(Please, don't let the answer to this question be Samurai-related…)_

Edgeworth raised his cup of tea once more, taking another calm sip before he continued.

"I am here for… Business. More or less."

"Business?"

I listened up.

"To be exact, I wanted to ask Misty Fey for her cooperation with further investigations. However…"

Edgeworth paused suddenly. He turned his head away and sighed clearly audible. "I think I may have just wasted my time doing this after all."

"Did you lose the lead you were following?" I asked in interest, but Edgeworth answered by shaking his head.

"Mrs. Fey declined my request."

I listened closely and was somewhat surprised by this statement. I may not have known too much about Misty Fey, but it was enough to be sure that she was, in fact, a very helpful person. So her refusing to give help seemed odd to me, causing me to ask.

"…I don't know if you want to tell me this, but what kind of request was it?"

"…"

Edgeworth's reaction to my question was almost alarmingly weird. His already turned away head moved another few centimeters to the side, as he was apparently desperately trying to keep his eyes focused at the wall…Was that him _blushing_?

"A… Channeling…" He finally uttered barely audible. I guess he was hoping that I wouldn't understand what he said, but that hope was in vain; I heard him just fine.

I stared at Edgeworth, not too surprised – I had already gone through too much the past two days to still be actually _surprised_ by anything- but still caught a little off-guard.

"_You _requested Misty Fey to channel a _Spirit_ for you?"

"Wright. Please listen to me."

Edgeworth's head had suddenly snapped back into a straight position, like that of a figure out of one of those badly animated simulations that were shown on flights in order to show the passengers how to correctly apply the seat belts. He looked at me with a steady, serious look in his eyes- yet the red color was still on his cheeks. It was especially noticeable because of his rather pale skin color and showed clearly that he wasn't too comfortable saying whatever he was going to say.

"This may sound silly and downright absurd, but I _know _that the practices of the Fey Clan are not entirely make-believe," he told me with an aforementioned serious look on his face, as his blushing cheeks were still telling me that he was probably secretly praying for me not to burst into laughter at him. "At the very least not in the case of Misty Fey."

"So she actually managed to convince you, of all people?"

I wouldn't have asked this question, wouldn't it have been obvious that even 'this' Edgeworth was somewhat reluctant to accept the fact that Spiritual practice could actually work in real life. Apparently, it still didn't fit into his world-concept.

Edgeworth finally couldn't help but turn his head away again.

"Let's just say 'Seeing is Believing', Wright." And he sighed. "I may not be able to explain what exactly it is that happens when she is "channeling"… But it actually seems like she was indeed able to 'become' the requested person to a certain degree. Right down to remembering facts only this person could possibly know and…"

"I know that it works, Edgeworth," I quickly told him, before he could break his own mind trying to find a logical explanation. "I saw it before too."

"Oh..."

Edgeworth now looked like he was feeling a little stupid because of how he got worked up over trying to justify his trust in the Fey's abilities. He leaned back and took a deep breath.

"So, let me guess," I had an idea where this whole conversation was going and remembered back to the events before today's trial only confirmed this suspicion. "You wanted Mrs. Fey to channel Ema Skye for you?"

Edgeworth kept his eyes at the wall next to us – it wasn't even a pretty wall- obviously still somewhat ashamed of the direction this dialogue had taken us. He probably couldn't help feeling this way, being the rational minded person he was.

"Lana Skye is refusing to give any kind of helpful testimony," he finally told me. "I originally thought that I might be able to find another way to acquire the information I need, but I eventually had to realize that I can't work like this."

_(I sympathize with you so much.)_

"I remembered how you compared the Skye's Sisters relationship to that of Mia and Maya Fey. I then came to the conclusion that the only way to persuade Ms. Skye to talk is to convince her that this is how her sister would want her to act."

"And what better way would there be for that than to have Ema tell her that herself in the face, right?" I concluded, understanding completely.

Edgeworth finally turned his head back at me. The redness of his cheeks had finally diminished a little again. He nodded, "Yes, this is pretty much what I thought… Of course, I usually wouldn't resort to unorthodox methods like this one, but it was not like I was left with much of a choice, you see…"

"But… there is one thing I still don't get." I leaned forward a bit towards him. "Why did Mrs. Fey decline the request? I mean, she is a Medium. It's her job, isn't it?"

"The problem is that I originally issued the request to a different Medium."

"A different Medium? -Oh, wait, now I remember."

Thinking back to this morning, I remembered what I had heard shortly before meeting Franziska Von Karma in the Lobby. How the bailiff had told me about the reason for Iris' presence in the courthouse.

"It was Iris, right? But the channeling failed for some reason…"

"Hm. 'Some reason'? Wright, did you really never notice that Iris Fey suffers from massive self-esteem problems?"

I listened up immediately when I heard this.

"She has low self-esteem?"

"Before even beginning the channeling, she already acted exaggeratedly apologetic. Even for her standards," Edgeworth explained. "It was like she was convinced that she was going to fail. And she continuously kept mentioning how her sister's absence would surely remind her."

"Her sister? What has Dahlia got to do with this?" I asked.

"Well, I may not be an expert, but to me it sounded like she considered herself to be 'incomplete' without her sister."

"'Incomplete'…?"

"A typical phenomenon for identical twins." Edgeworth told me. "The siblings feel so strongly connected that separation gives them the feeling that they were deprived of an essential part of themselves. Although it seems to only apply to Iris in this case."

"So Iris' channeling didn't work because she was too upset because Dahlia was imprisoned…" I summed up, more to myself than to him. I bit my lip as I did. Edgeworth went on.

"Of course, this isn't the entire reason."

"Hm?"

I raised my head slightly, as Edgeworth explained:

"If Maya told me the truth- which I, of course, think she did- Iris has apparently, regardless of her high status in the Clan Hierarchy, always had problems with conducting a channeling, despite training for several hours almost daily."

_(Right… She and Dahlia were both born with a very low amount of Spiritual Power, which is why Morgan… the 'original' Morgan, I mean, didn't put up much of a fight when their father demanded to become their legal guardian upon their divorce,) _I remembered. _(No wonder she has problems getting accustomed to the idea of becoming Master. But with Pearl gone, it's either her or Dahlia. Especially seeing how both, Mia and Maya aren't available either.)_

The Mastership of the Kurain channeling technique… I had rarely ever heard of a position that caused as many problems as this one. Except 'President of the United States' maybe.

And now, there was a future Master with barely any Spiritual Energy… one could imagine that the remaining Mediums of the village weren't exactly happy about this development. They were probably cursing the day they allowed Morgan Fey to become Master, rather than her sister. And, while we are at her sister…

"So you came to Misty Fey to let her channel Ema instead?"

"Yes. But Mrs. Fey refused." Edgeworth answered, visibly a little frustrated by this.

"Because you had originally issued the request to Iris?"

He nodded. "She claims that channeling the spirit of a murder victim is no task to be fulfilled by a branch family member and that a request like this should remain Iris' responsibility. She told me to give her a little more time."

"But this makes no sense," I argued. "Misty Fey is clearly the more skilled Medium."

Edgeworth shook his head, "Had this been her true reason to decline taking over the request, I would agree with you. However, I believe that Mrs. Fey is really worried about the girl's self-confidence."

"…Because if another Medium easily handled the request that she failed to carry out, she would feel even worse about it than she already does?"

"Exactly."

Great. This was yet another problem to be added to my list of hindrances in this case. Even if it wouldn't help us in court, Edgeworth's idea to have a medium channel Ema was really _good, _considering that this could have really been the only way to persuade Lana to take back her false confession. But I knew from experience with Maya that confidence played a big role in whether a channeling was successful or not and if Iris kept putting herself down the way she did in the Defendant Lobby today, there was not much of a chance that she would be channeling _anything_ anytime soon.

"Iris," I heard Edgeworth tell me. "It is incredible how similar she appears to Dahlia, isn't it?"

"And how," I answered, laughing a bit. I wondered why I was laughing though. If there was a person who shouldn't find this funny in the least, it should be me. After all, it was because of this huge similarity that I had ended up dating a woman for six whole months without even knowing her true name. "I didn't think that two people could really be that identical until I found out about them. Luckily, their hair colors are different. Otherwise they would be impossible to tell apart."

"Heh. 'Luckily'?" Apparently it was Edgeworth's turn to laugh a little now. "I wouldn't use this term for something that was done on purpose."

I blinked a few times. "On purpose?"

"Dahlia dyes." He told me smiling. "She visits the hairdresser four times every year for several hours, in order to make sure the color remains just the way it is. A quite expensive habit, you can believe me."

_(Don't tell me she makes you pay for it?)_

"So… Dahlia's natural hair color is black?" I asked.

"You really didn't know? I thought that it was obvious. After all, identical twins share the same DNA. A difference in hair color shouldn't be possible."

"Yes, now that you say it… This makes sense, actually."

A lot of sense, to be honest. Why didn't I think of this sooner? I guess I was too influenced by the fact that even her Spirit had flaming red Medusa-hair the one time I saw it…

"She does this in order to distinguish herself from Iris." Edgeworth told me.

I moved my head a little. "This is really her whole reason?"

"You shouldn't understand this wrong. Dahlia loves her sister a lot," he told me, and it was incredibly weird to hear him saying this. "But she doesn't want to be considered the same person as her. Her own identity is very important to her."

"I understand… I wouldn't want to share my identity with someone else either."

Seeing that I understood what he meant, Edgeworth nodded satisfied.

"But it is no coincidence that Dahlia is the one who decided to dye and not Iris. You see, they may resemble each other on first glance, but this deceives. Their personalities are very different. Out of those two girls, Dahlia is clearly the more independent one. Iris is a lot more sensible and childlike in many aspects. I think it wouldn't be wrong to call Dahlia the 'stronger' sister…"

"Yes…" I replied, nodding, "I remember Iris telling me something like that herself once…"

A short pause followed this statement, accompanied by Edgeworth dropping his smile. I had no idea how I caused him to act like that, so I got quite nervous. Finally, he spoke to me again.

"Do you remember, or do you _think _that you remember?" Edgeworth asked me. Of course, I quickly realized what he was referring to and tried to reply.

"I remember it… I mean, I know that it happened in my memory, but… I…"

"Wright," Looking me straight in the eyes, Edgeworth leaned forward a bit "I regret not having asked this question sooner, but… A whole day has passed and your condition hasn't changed in the slightest. Do you feel capable of continuing this case's prosecution in this state?"

"O-Of course!" I leaned forward as well. "If I don't do it, Von Karma will take over! And you know what she'll do if that happens!"

"But you are biased." Edgeworth argued. "You are more concerned with the safety of Lana Skye and the Fey women than with the trial's outcome. And you believe you were a Defense Attorney."

"Well, sure I am worried abou-"

I stopped right there. My brain had just finished progressing Edgeworth's second sentence.

"…!"

My jaw dropped pretty low. I remembered what I had told Edgeworth when I tried to explain my problem to him. Or rather, what I _hadn't _told him.

"W-W-What… How… When…"

"Why are you surprised, Wright? I thought it was pretty obvious," he looked to the side and smiled "Aside from your numerous small slip ups and lapses that point towards this and your awkward way of investigating alongside the police, you also show a rather great determination to _protect _people all of a sudden. I haven't seen you like this in years, I have to say…"

The main difference between 'this' Edgeworth and the one I knew, aside from the obvious ones, was certainly that he smiled a lot more often and, most of all, more naturally. And there was something about the way he smiled that moment. It was, in an odd way, very comfortable for me. It was nostalgic.

And for a moment, I felt like we were back in school. Like it was recess and I was just trying to comprehend what we had learned in the previous lesson and fail. And my friend Miles was sitting in front of me. And I knew that he could explain everything to me. Because I knew that he understood it. He was always miles ahead of me. He had always been.

Children grow older. They study and learn, their interests and abilities change, they become adults and find their place in the world… But how much could people really change? How much of those two little boys from back in school was still left here, unchanged, in us two young men sitting at this table now? That was a question that I asked myself that moment.

I noticed that Edgeworth's teacup was already empty. Meanwhile, I still even hadn't got one yet. Misty Fey hadn't shown up again yet. Not that I was unhappy about it. I wasn't really looking forward to drinking bitter tea anyway.

"To be honest," Edgeworth's voice attracted my attention again. I looked at him. He, however, wasn't looking at me. I heard him sigh, "…If it was an option, I would be very glad if you remained the way you are now."

"…Because I am more harmless that way?"

"Because you are a better _person_ this way… Phoenix."

The sound of my first name made me realize how stupid my last response had been. He had already shown many times how little victory meant to him. But, of course he preferred the 'me' right now… his old friend over the guy who convicted his innocent girlfriend.

It was a little bit like asking me to choose between the Edgeworth who mercilessly prosecuted against both me and Maya and the Edgeworth who helped me save Maya just a year later.

Of course I would have chosen the latter.

"Edgeworth…"

"However, your health, mental or other, has priority," he told me. "We can't let you remain with severe Amnesia and Delusions just for the sake of 'improving' your personality."

"D-Delusions?" I backed off a little, "Listen, I'm sane!"

Edgeworth looked at me in a stern way. "You have no recollection of the last two thirds of your life, and have apparently constructed memories for yourself of events that never happened. Excuse me, but this does not meet the requirements of 'sanity' in my eyes."

"But this is… I am… Argh…"

_(There is no way I am going to persuade him of my story the way I 'persuaded' Maya…) _I realized. _(As long as I can't show him solid proof – and let's face it, I'll never have solid proof for __**this **__– he'll just keep believing that I've lost my marbles…)_

Knowing that, despite the friendly terms we were on, Edgeworth was probably not taking me seriously now was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to be on his eye level, just once. But what could I do to change this? Nothing.

Discussing my situation with Edgeworth right now was useless.

Still, I had one more question that I could ask him.

"Edgeworth, there's one thing I'd like to know."

I waited till I was sure that I got his attention. Then, I took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn't be too awkward.

"I... heard that… you and… Dahlia are… in a relationship."

_(Wow. Four pauses in one sentence. This has to be some kind of record.)_

Edgeworth looked immediately somewhat surprised when I asked this question. In the end, he simply nodded and replied, "Yes. Dahlia Fey has been my girlfriend for almost three years now."

Shivers went down my spine and caused my whole body to shake.

_(I don't know what's more creepy. Edgeworth using the word 'Girlfriend' or the word 'Girlfriend' being used in the same sentence as 'Dahlia' by someone again… And I guess the combination of both beats it all. )_

I tried hard to suppress how disturbed I was and went on to ask Edgeworth.

"And... how exactly did you get together?"

The question was first met with a rather skeptical stare by Edgeworth. I guess he didn't like me digging into his private life. In the end, however, he smiled a little again and calmly answered.

"Well, she was a client of mine."

"…A client?"

"After her trial, she insisted to work for me. She has been my secretary and assistant ever since. "

_(Ehh… Why does that sounds disturbingly much like someone else I know?)_

It was good that Edgeworth was apparently not paying much attention to my face right now, otherwise he would have probably commented on how I looked everything but relaxed. He himself was smiling uncharacteristically warmly – but not too warmly, fortunately – as he went on to explain.

"It was just a few months later that she addressed me during work and told me about her feelings. And ever since then… well…"

I said nothing, but tried hard to minimize the tension in every single of my muscles. Still, I couldn't keep my mouth from opening a little. The idea of Dahlia and Edgeworth being romantically involved was already disturbing enough as it was, I really didn't need the fact that they were apparently also mirroring me and a certain other person, and the implications connected to this smacked into my face as well.

"But… I don't get it…" I couldn't help but just say it out loud. "Edgeworth, sorry, but you don't seem like the type for this to me. You and… you know… a girl. You were never even too impressed by the love letters you got in school."

_(Including those of the most gorgeous girl in our grade.)_

It was obvious that Edgeworth wasn't a person who was easily impressed by looks. So, what else could someone like him be possibly seeing in someone like… Dahlia?

Shivers.

"…"

Edgeworth's eyes wandered around somewhat nervously for while, before he finally replied.

"Well… I think attraction of this kind is hard to explain, but…" He looked at me. "It might have something to do with how reliable and capable she is."

"Capable?" I asked.

"She is very good as gathering information, Wright." Edgeworth told me. "She has a certain talent for acting that allows her to persuade otherwise very stubborn witnesses into giving surprisingly detailed testimonies. You can't even begin to imagine how useful this can be."

_(The power of a pair of innocent eyes and an angelic smile…)_

"And even disregarding this, she is doing a very fine job as a secretary. It is just a good feeling to know that your files are in safe hands."

A sentence about Dahlia, containing the phrase 'In safe hands'… I heard a siren go off in my head.

_(Ugh… my stomach hurts and I suddenly have the urge to punch somebody… Is that what Mia felt like every time I mentioned Dahlia during my trial back then?)_

Still, I decided that randomly punching Edgeworth probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"Of course, the emotional attachment could also stem from the importance of the case during which I came to know her."

I listened up, "Her case was important to you?"

Edgeworth looked straight at me and suddenly, his smile turned thinner. He took a breath and said something.

"BD-7."

"BD-7…?"

_(Nice. Another case I know jack about…)_

I wanted to go on and ask Edgeworth more… more about the case, more about how he won it, but I didn't get to do this. Our conversation reached a sudden end when the door behind us swung open loudly. And a cheerful, energetic voice echoed loudly through the room, sounding out all too familiar words.

"Hey Nick!"

I turned around, just in time to see Maya storming into the room with a radiant grin on her face.

"I settled everything! You can come back to the set now and-"

She stopped talking as soon as she saw that I wasn't alone. And how abruptly she stopped. For a moment she looked like she had swallowed her fork.

"M-Miles…" She finally stuttered, the shocked expression still on her face.

Now, it was the three of us looking at each other, wordless, for several seconds. And Maya turned a little more nervous with each of those seconds passing. She kept alternately looking at Edgeworth, me and the door behind her. Finally, she settled on addressing me.

"Well… Looks like you're still busy… Eh… OK. I'll be waiting outside then…"

She turned around and was about to leave the room, when I heard the sound of something being pushed away. Edgeworth had stood up from his chair.

"Maya."

Maya stopped walking. Slowly and hesitantly, she turned back around. Edgeworth was looking straight at her.

"I have to apologize for my harsh treatment earlier."

"Oh…" Maya looked up for a moment, before she lowered her head and looked at the floor. "It's alright," she said. "You just did your job… I guess…"

"No, it is not alright," Edgeworth disagreed "It is true that I didn't have many other options, but if using the letter caused you any kind of harm, this is still entirely my responsibility. Should today's events have any kind of negative aftereffects on your public image, I will try to help redeem them as much as possible. It isn't much, but I am sure a public declaration that I never meant to hint at a romantic nature of your relationship might undo some of the damage."

"Miles…"

Maya looked touched.

"Please believe me, that it was never I my intention to invade your privacy in any way. However, also remember that a human life could be endangered by an act of perjury in this trial." Edgeworth looked very serious as he said this. "We need you to testify again, Maya. Everything you saw and experienced in the few minutes you spent in this building could prove to be crucial. This is why you need to tell the truth to the court."

"But…I…"  
Nervous, Maya looked around. She seemed to be unsure what to think. So I stood up from my chair.

"He's right, Maya," I said. "Please, testify again. I think this would really help."

"…"  
Just a few moments longer, Maya remained silent. Then, finally she looked at Edgeworth.

"…If you give it back…" she whispered.

"…Pardon?"

"The letter…" Maya spoke a little louder, "I'll tell the court everything… if you give the letter back and don't mention it again."

She looked a whole lot more secure again now and returned Edgeworth's serious look, waiting for him to answer. Finally, he nodded.

"Fine."

After this, he bowed down, picking up his suitcase from the ground. He put it on the table before us, opened it and pulled out something: The letter. He stood up again and handed the pink envelope… to me.

"Here."

"…?"

With confused eyes – similar to Maya's eyes at that same moment – I looked right at Edgeworth, who told me,

"I am returning this to you."

"B-But it's not mi-"

"When I found this letter, it had already been delivered to your apartment. It is yours, Wright. Take it."

I hesitated and looked over to Maya, who looked a little shocked. Apparently, she had, like me, expected Edgeworth to give the letter to her. But now, there he was, right in front of me, holding that envelope under my nose.

"What you do with it is entirely for you to decide, of course," Edgeworth told me, when I just kept staring at it. "You may read it, or keep it closed, or even burn it. I won't intervene. But first, you have to take it."

"Nick…

I looked over to Maya again. She was looking at me and seemed a little nervous. "J-Just take it," she said. "It's alright…But please make sure that nobody but him reads it."

I waited just a second longer, then I took the letter from Edgeworth. I held the pink envelope in my hands now. Its color was still incredibly obtrusive, especially from this close and I could tell that Edgeworth had been right regarding the handwriting: This was clearly Maya's. I didn't need an analysis to see that.

_(I wonder what it says inside..?) _I immediately thought to myself, but I knew that Maya was counting on me not looking at the letter, so I kept the envelope sealed and quickly put it away into my own suitcase. I could see Maya's relieved smile as I did, like I had just locked away a monster that had been threatening to eat her.

"So… you won't bring the letter up again tomorrow, Miles?" Maya asked, now smiling once again.

Edgeworth nodded.

"As long as you testify truthfully."

"Got it!"

Maya grinned. I had just finished closing up my suitcase again and turned towards her.

"You wanted something from me?" I asked her. She looked over at me.

"Yeah! We're finished with filming Trucy's stunt now! Sal Manella said you can go back on the set, as long as you touch none of the… err… what was it again… oh, yes! 'L33t'-Equipment!"

_(Lee… Lih… Eh…Is that equipment labeled?)_

"Have you much left to shoot for today?" I asked, but Maya shook her head.

"No, actually I'm done for the day. I just thought that it would be fun if we watched the others working on the smaller scenes together for a while!" She grinned merrily. "So, how about it?"

"Well, I would love to Maya, but, to be honest..." My eyes were on my watch. 17:15 it read. "I'm actually kinda out of time..."

"Huh? Out of time…?"

I looked up from my wrist, at Maya, who appeared to be a little puzzled, and told her.

"You know Von Karma?"

"The crazy whip lady from the trial today?" Maya asked.

"Yeah… exactly. She told me to meet her at the crime scene at 19:00, so she can investigate with me. If I come too late, I guess the results of that are not gonna be pretty."

"Oh."

"Franziska von Karma? Hm…" Edgeworth was taking a look on his own watch now. "You know that the last train to L. A. until 18:00 has left 2 minutes ago, don't you?"

I turned my head over to him.

"That's not a problem, don't worry. Gumshoe is driving me."

A _'good-luck-in-that-case'_ kind of look appeared on Edgeworth's face the moment I said that. Maya had started talking again before I had a chance to comment on it though.

"Do you think you'll find anything new there?" She asked with doubt in her voice. "I mean, the police already turned your place upside down. And so did Miles."

I could only sigh to this. How true…

"I thought the same thing. But Franziska von Karma is stubborn. I'm willing to bet that she's just gonna invent some evidence if we don't find any."

"I-Invent?" Maya jumped. "But wouldn't that be forg-"

Edgeworth nodded.

"Forging Evidence, yes."

A stinging pain.

I put my hand to my face.

_(That again… Argh…)_

"But this is not beyond that woman, believe me," Edgeworth continued. "Although I have certain doubts she would go that far in this trial, not actually having been entrusted with its prosecution- Wright, do you feel alright?"

He peeked over at me, mustering how I was massaging my forehead with my fingers

"J-Just a headache, that's all…" I replied. "Didn't get enough sleep last night."

"But... You looked a little pale yesterday evening too." I heard it in Maya's voice that she was worried. "Maybe you should let a doctor take a look at you. What if it's something serious?"

_(I doubt a doctor can help me with this.) _I thought to myself and sighed. _('Forging Evidence'. Every time that topic comes up, this happens. That topic or… that prosecutor and that girl. 'Forgery' and those two people… What's the connection between them?)_

"Ah. Anyway." I stood up upright. "I really should get going now if I want to survive tomorrow's trial in one piece."

I was heading for the door already, when I heard Maya call once more.

"W…Wait!"

I turned around to her, seeing show she stepped towards me.

"I'm coming too!"

"Maya?" I raised my head in surprise. Maya had balled her hands to fists.

"I'll help you with the investigations! I mean, if you don't find anything, Von Karma is going to whip you again, isn't she? And four eyes see more than two."

"You don't have to, really." I told her. "I mean, you already got caught up in this enough. I can handle Von Karma alone."

"And what if you suddenly faint and collapse? That woman's not gonna call 911! But I am."

"I'm not going to faint, Maya!"

"Of course you're not. So, shouldn't we get going, Nick?"

"…"

I stared at Maya, who in turn was grinning at me radiantly. It was then that I remembered that Franziska Von Karma wasn't the only woman I knew who could be incredibly stubborn if she wanted to.

It was weird. On the one hand, I was incredibly glad that Maya no longer despised me and that we were friends 'again'. On the other hand, I was frightened that taking her along on the investigations might turn out to be a mistake later on.

_(Maya probably doesn't realize that, but she's still a potential suspect…) _I remembered. _(Right now, the only thing keeping her from being suspected is the 'fact' that only Lana could have opened the door, but…If we find out how the actual killer opened the door and that it would have been possible for her to do that as well … If I take her along to investigate, it would look like she could have destroyed evidence on the scene…)_

"Niiick! How long are you going to just stand there?

_(On the other hand… she just didn't do it. And neither Edgeworth nor me are gonna accuse her anytime soon. I guess she's safe…)_

"Nick?"

"Alright," I finally answered Maya. "You can come along. But you have to be careful. It's a crime scene, you know."

She seemed not really pleased by that statement.

"You don't need to tell me that! Do I look like that much of a little girl to you?"

I mustered the overly colorful, less-than-mature dress that Maya had changed into.

_(I'd better not answer that question…)_

_

* * *

_

**May 2nd, 5:20pm  
Kurain; Bus Station**

"Huh?"

I took a wide, long look to make sure I wasn't mistaken. And I wasn't. What reassured me even more of this was that Maya noticed it too.

"Didn't you say the Detective would be waiting here for you, Nick?" She asked, spinning around three hundred sixty degrees once, scanning the area for cars as she did.

I too, kept looking around, but it was no use. Gumshoe's car was gone and Gumshoe with it.

"That's not like him…Disappearing without saying a word…"

"Maybe he left you a message." Maya suggested. "Did you check on your cellphone?"

I turned towards her, giving her a skeptical look.

"I thought those didn't have any reception up here?"

"Not enough to make calls, but text messages should still work," Maya told me, sounding a little bit like she was wondering if what she said was even correct. "Yeah, Mia texted me a few times when we filmed the choreography for the summoning scene up here. The messages arrived a little delayed though…"

"Hm… Maybe I should really check on my phone."

I put my right hand into my pocket and started searching it for the little device.

"…Huh?"

"Something wrong, Nick?"

I was taking long to get the phone between my fingers… _too _long.

_(It can't be…) _I quickly took the Magatama out of my pocket and turned all of them inside-out, carefully looking through everything that fell out. I gulped.

"It's gone," I realized. "My cell phone's gone! I lost it!"

Maya backed off and jumped. "You _lost _it? Where?"

_(If I knew that, it wouldn't be lost! Argh…)_

This was _not_ good. Not just because surviving in the modern world without a cellphone was pretty hard to accomplish, but also because Ema's and Lana's messages had still been on it. Which were important Evidence.

_(A-Alright, no problem. I mean… I just have to go back and search for it, right? There aren't too many places where it could be…)_

This was a blatant lie. I had been at tons of places since I had last taken a look at the phone shortly after entering Gumshoe's car. It could have been everywhere in Kurain and around-

I raised my head.

"That tree…"

Maya stepped closer, "You mean the Sakura-Cherry Tree down at the river?"

"Yes, that one," I told her as I put my stuff back into my pocket and got up again. "I probably lost the phone when I crashed into it…"

"Hold it! You _crashed _into the tree?" A weird mixture of amazement, shock and interest was on Maya's face. "How'd _that _happen?"

"Long story, really…" I wasn't in the mood to tell her about my little encounter with Armando. "Anyway… Gumshoe or not, without that phone, I'm not going anywhere. Not as long as Ema's last message is recorded on it…"

"Her _what_?"

It had been a while since I had seen Maya that clueless and startled at the same time about a piece of Evidence I mentioned. Come to think of it, this was the first time she had joined me on my investigations mid-way, so it actually was to be expected.

"I'm going to explain it later." I quickly told her. "For now, we need to get back to that tree."

"I know a short cut!" Maya's eyes shone in enthusiasm to be of assistance. "Quick, this way!"

"Alright!"

* * *

**May 2nd, 5:27pm  
Seishigawa Riverbank**

Maya ran so fast, I almost couldn't keep up with her, though this was actually a good thing. I was, yet again, late already and every second I could save was precious. We didn't even need five minutes down to the river bank, to the spot with the pink-blossomed tree.

"Here we are!" Maya stopped in her tracks like hitting invisible breaks and produced even a small cloud of dust when she came to a halt. As soon as I had caught up, I got onto my knees and looked around in the grass.

"It has to be somewhere around here…" I said out loud, searching the ground for the little device.

_(Please, let it be there…)_

Maya quickly sat down herself to search, even circling the tree a few times.

"It's not here!" She finally told me.

"It's not here either…" I finally got back onto my feet and wiped the dust of my trousers. "That's bad… very bad…"

_(Ugh…Just when things can't get any worse, I lose a piece of Evidence. Great.)_

"Hm…" Maya's eyes had wandered into a different direction. "What if it fell into the river?"

"…!"

This was the most alarming – and I mean 'alarmingly plausible' – thing she had said yet.

_(When Armando flung me around like a sandbag… Oh no…)_

Maya looked a little uncomfortable, now that she had pointed this possibility out. Probably because she had realized that it would be impossible to get the phone back if she was right.

"So…" She turned towards me again "What do we do now?"

"I have no idea…" I told her truthfully. "Gumshoe's gone… the phone's gone… And I have to find a way to be back in L.A. in an hour and a half, or a teenage prosecutor will be going Queen of Hearts on me."

"Well, we could ask Miles to drive us," Maya suggested. "But that's not solving the problem with the phone, is it…?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly."

"Ngh… What to do…?"

There wasn't much we could do. The phone was gone and since the reception up here was so low, there wasn't a big chance that we could find it by performing the 'call-yourself'-trick. It was my own fault. I shouldn't have left it in my pocket.

I gave the search up, got up from the floor again, and turned around.

I am not sure what came next. Maya's 'Huh!', or me noticing the person behind us? But I think Maya was a split second faster. She quickly got up from the floor as well and came to me.

"I-Iris…!"

The young, black haired woman was standing there before us, a bunch of flowers in one hand, and a candle in the other. She noticed me and seemed startled, which was understandable. She probably hadn't expected me to be here.

"Oh! F-Fe… You…" She turned a little to the side. "Maya…"

"…"

Neither of us said anything to her. I don't know how Maya felt about this, but I had a heavy lump in my throat. After the fiasco that was Maya's last cross examination today, Iris finding me and Maya sitting in the grass under a pink-blooming tree probably wasn't exactly a best-case scenario for her blood pressure. I knew her well enough to know that she should react rather sensible to this…

…So why was it, that she looked comparably calm, if not a little surprised?

"…Did I…come at a bad moment?" She finally asked, quickly attempting to smile, which was entirely out-of-place, considering the situation.

"N-No, not at all!"

"Really? That's good to know."

She just kept smiling. The weird thing was, I couldn't tell if the smile was genuine or fake. It was like a part of her was actually in the mood to smile, while another part had to force itself to do so. She tilted her head a little.

"You are… not fighting anymore?"

"Eh… N-No…" Maya sounded rather uncomfortable. "We… eh… we're not…"

"I see… That's good."

"Yes… Yes it is…"

Maybe she 'saw it', but I saw nothing. I didn't see where this conversation led or what it meant or if it had any meaning at all. Probably it didn't anyway. Maya and Iris didn't look like they were trying to make sense anyway. And I felt like an out-of-place piece of scenery in the background that just added to the awkwardness of the whole scene.

Maya looked very nervous. I saw how her eyes got stuck on the flowers that Iris was holding. Finally, after a few seconds of silence, she turned towards me, saying uncharacteristically quietly,

"Nick. We should go…"

"Uhm…" I threw a short glance at Iris, but tried not to meet her eyes. "Okay…"

As soon as I had said that, Maya took me by my arm and, with stiff movement, went away, pulling me along. She mumbled a rather subdued 'See you later' as she did. I somehow felt like the reason behind the girls' weird behavior was a different one than I had initially thought, so I turned around once more, as Maya led me away.

I saw how Iris, letting her eyes off us, turned towards the tree. She approached a kind of stone tablet that was half-buried in the floor at the tree. Then, she kneeled down, placed the candle next to it, lit it… and prayed.

Something else also 'lit up': An imaginary light bulb in my mind.

"17:30…" I heard Maya whisper. "I should have thought about that… I mean, she's coming here almost every day at this time. That was just stupid… Ungh…"

"Maya?" I turned towards her as we walked. "Is there a grave under that tree?"

Maya stopped walking as soon as I asked this. For a moment, she looked at me rather shocked. Then, her face relaxed again.

"O-Oh yeah… right… You don't know about it, huh?..." She threw a short look at the ground, before she continued. "Yeah… There is someone buried there."

I was hesitant to ask, but in the end I did.

"…Who?"

Maya spoke slowly:

"Iris' mother."

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. But it was partially cut before it ripped.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Maya's Letter  
_Was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

_*)Misty Fey's Book  
_A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

_*)?  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

_*)Diego Armando  
_Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

_*)Pearl Fey(?)  
_Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

_*)Trucy  
_A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

* * *

_This chapter has been finished for half a month, but I tried to postpone releasing it until Court Records dot net is back online, because of the Court Record for my fanfiction there. Unfortunately, the Forum has been offline for over a month now and since it doesn't look like the problem was gonna be solved anytime soon, so I decided to just get this over with and post the chapter without the proper court record for now… I'll tell you once everything is back online, promise._

_Again, an extremely dialogue heavy chapter. I am going to cut down on Phoenix-Edgeworth interaction from now on, because it is getting too repetitive in my eyes. You should keep most things that were mentioned in this chapter in mind, some of them will turn out to be crucial._

_Maya will be with Nick for the rest of May 2__nd__, so I can write an investigation phase more similar to the ones in the game. I've been waiting to do that for a long time and got it all planned out._

_Oh, and a little note: The lost cellphone? You can trace back where Phoenix actually lost it, because I removed it from the court record that chapter. I wondered if anybody would notice, but, to my slight dismay, nobody did. Still, now I told you, now you can go and try to figure out how the phone disappeared. Good luck._

_Also, I played the Gyakuten Kenji 2 demo. Took me half a day to translate it, but it was worth it. Awesome stuff. I love how the game plays with the idea that Edgeworth was in danger of losing his badge around that time as well… I also played the English Ghost Trick demo. Now I know which game I'm gonna buy with my Christmas Money. _

_OK, that's it for today, folks. _


	21. Mysteries to Solve

**May 2****nd****, 6:03pm**

There was currently more than just one mystery to solve. Remembering this fact, I kept carefully looking over all the things I had on me right now. The phone was, of course, still gone – and the chances that I would get it back anytime soon were very slim. The thought caused me to sigh. I had just been too careless and was now paying the price. Now I had to come up with another way to make sure we would be able to exactly reconstruct the course of events around the time of the crime.

I was trying to concentrate, but Maya on the seat next to me was making this a hard task, as she kept bouncing up and down like a rubber ball. I think she was trying to tell Edgeworth how much fun she had with her work on the set today. 'Think', because I barely understood a word of the flood of text that swept over Edgeworth and me. Edgeworth – given from what I had yet seen – would probably have understood more than me of all the Samurai-related things she was talking about and would probably also have been a lot more interested in it, wouldn't it have been for the fact that he was currently occupied with a rather important task, which obviously caused him to experience Maya's continuous babbling as just as much of an annoyance as I did.

In case you can't tell yet, we were in his car and he was driving.

"…Too bad you were busy talking to mom, Miles, because that scene was awesome with a capital 'A'! Trucy was just a-ma-zing! Am I right or am I right, Nick?"

I heard the word 'Nick' and reacted by quickly raising my head.

"Ah- Amazing, yes, right. I couldn't agree more."

"Ugh! You're not even listening, are you?

Immediately, Maya's cheeks blew up, like those of a puffer fish.

"Seriously, Nick! You can't tell me you weren't interested at all in the shooting!"

"Sorry, Maya. It's just that I'm a little busy right now." I led my eyes back to the items I was looking over, the one on the top of the pile in my lap being the two crime scene photos which still had any relevance.

Maya saw what I was doing and her expression softened a little bit again. She brought her hand to her mouth.

"Oh… You're looking over the court record?"

"So Von Karma won't whip me into oblivion when we arrive," I nodded. "I'm already late. The fewer additional reasons she finds to be aggravated, the better."

"Ah! Right, you were to meet her at 7pm, weren't you?" I have no idea why, but Maya suddenly made a rather shocked face. Was she picturing Franziska's reaction to my delay before her mental eye?

"C'mon, Miles, we're _way _too slow! Hit the pedal! Nick's life is on the line here!"

"…"

Edgeworth didn't even pay this demand a reply. Understandable, since we were already driving at maximum allowed speed and right next to the cliff.

Oh. The cliff.

Did I really _have_ to remind myself of that?

As I felt how my hands started shaking a little and tried to keep clinging to the documents and pictures I had in my hand, Maya's tries to persuade Edgeworth to break traffic-laws continued.

"You could drive at least a _tiny _little bit faster, Miles!"

"…"

"A microscopic bit faster?"

"…"

Maya's face fell. Before I knew it, her cheeks had expanded again. She turned her head towards me.

"Ungh... Nick! Say, something! It's you who's going to be late!"

I had the choice between openly talking about my own feelings about rushing down this path above the maximum allowed speed, or just miming Edgeworth and keep shut up. I chose the later.

"…"

Silently, I just sat there and waited for me to stop shivering, so I could look at the crime scene photo again, instead of just pretending to be looking at it but not actually being able to make out a thing, since it was, like I mentioned, shaking with my hands.

"Are you both ignoring me now?" was Maya's reaction to this. There was an unmistakable impatience in her voice. I, however, really didn't have the nerve to bother calming her down right now.

Instead, I attempted to calm down _myself_.

I kept my stomach from twisting by putting the documents down on my lap, leaning over them and focusing on the court record again. It didn't work perfectly, but better than nothing. Only while I was staring at the first crime photo without searching for anything in particular, I came to notice something odd, which had nothing to do with the photos or anything else in the court record.

_(Hm… Actually, it's not just Maya's remark. Edgeworth has been awfully quiet for a while now.)_

I took a peek up and tried to catch a glance of Edgeworth's face by looking into the rear-view mirror. What I got was a rather… nervous looking pair of eyes.

_(…Oh, that's why.) _I finally understood. _(Edgeworth is afraid of heights, just like me…)_

A scene from our childhood came to my mind when I thought of this. It had been in late spring, not too long after Edgeworth had become Larry's and my friend in the first place. The three of us had quarreled over who of us was to climb a certain tree, but Larry refused because he claimed to be a horrible climber and Edgeworth and I 'objected' for the obvious reason.

_(Hm… Now that I think about it… why was it so important that one of us climbed up there anyway? I remember that we had a reason. I just… kinda… forget it.)_

The inconvenient thing about childhood memories was how unreliable they were. Back then, when the word was still a lot more carefree and simple, keeping things like this in mind didn't seem important. In exchange, trying to actually remember them now was painfully annoying. I eventually just gave up and focused my eyes on the Crime Photo again.

Although I still didn't know what I was actually searching for on that thing.

There was Lana, there was her handbag, and there was the noose with which she allegedly tried to hang herself. I didn't like to admit it, but this picture made it really hard to believe that anything else could have happened... And yet, some things didn't fit into this picture and I knew it. I just had to keep trying to deconstruct it…

"Fine! Ignore me! Ugh …"

I was almost surprised when I heard Maya's voice again. Had it really only been a few seconds? It must have been, seeing how Maya wouldn't have given the two of us more than ten seconds at most to answer her question.

I turned towards her. Maya was now sitting with her arms crossed, sunken into the seat. She was facing the window, but I could still see that she was pouting. The image looked a little bit like that of a grade school kid who had just been told that they've been grounded for a week.

I felt my mouth's corners being pulled upwards once again and realized that I really, really needed to stop spontaneously smiling every time Maya was doing anything I was actually _used_ to her doing. But this was easier said than done. Especially since the thought _'Maya is back! She's really there again!' _was still hanging above all of my other thoughts like a much more pleasant version of the infamous Damocles Sword. It actually surprised me that it was like that. I had been 'deprived' of Maya for barely one and a half days after all. So, why was it that I felt like I had to cherish every little second she was there, just doing what she always does?

I knew that once everything was back to normal, Maya would be my assistant again. I would see her every day and we would investigate together in my cases. This was a fact. There was no reason why this should change.

But for some reason, Maya still felt like a 'Thanksgiving Turkey' to me right now: Something fantastic, something you only get your hands on very rarely and have to enjoy every last moment of it.

Frankly, the fact that I was feeling this way was creeping me out. And not just a little bit. It was downright worrying me.

_(It's almost like I… like a part of me would believe that Maya won't be there anymore…)_

This idea was stupid, of course. Why should Maya just 'disappear'? She's been there ever since I started my career and she was going to stick around for quite a while longer… right?

…Why was it, that the word _'Wrong'_ was resonating somewhere in the back of my mind as I thought this?

…

Something then came back to me. Misty Fey – the Misty Fey of 'my' world –had died. Not too long ago, actually. So…Maya was going to be the Master of Kurain soon… right? She was going to be in charge of the other mediums' training, the village's finances and a lot more tasks which required a lot of responsibility. This, of course, would require her to move back to the village…

…So what? Kurain was not that far away. And I only took an important case once every three months or so anyway. I could still go visit her. She could still come visit me. And she still could help me with the investigations, whenever she had time. It was not like she was moving out of the country, even if the office was going to feel a little empty without her…

So, where did this weird feeling in my stomach come from? This wasn't just my fear of heights kicking in again, that's for sure. I found myself sighing.

_(Ah… What am I doing? Whether here or in 'my world'… Maya is just growing up. She's living her own life and going her own way. I always knew she wasn't going to opt for a career in law all of a sudden. It was clear that she'd stop working in my office one day. So, I should have no reason to feel like… like this, really… We're not going to stop being friends because of this, are we?)_

But no matter how long I tried telling myself this, the fact that the mental image of Maya leaving to become a Master – a position, in which I really, really couldn't picture her – caused me an almost worse feeling in the stomach than the height. Maybe it was just because the title she was about to take on was 'Master of Kurain'. Nothing good ever came out of 'Master of Kurain'. Misty Fey had been 'Master of Kurain' for only a few years, before she was humiliated, chased into hiding and finally, brutally murdered. And Misty had been young when she took the title. God knew what happened to Maya's grandmother before that. Actually, I didn't even want to know what happened to Maya's grandmother.

In any case, being 'Master of Kurain' was never a good omen for a woman of the Fey clan, from my experiences. My talk with 'this' Maya just a few minutes ago, before boarding this car had just reaffirmed me in that suspicion…

"_Yeah… There is someone buried there. Iris' Mother."_

"_Iris' mother… You mean Morgan Fey?" I asked, finding myself stuttering a little. "She's… dead?"_

_I didn't expect this turn of events. I really didn't expect it in the slightest. Maya, however, just turned her head away in a way that showed that talking about it wasn't exactly pleasant for her. _

"_Yes. My aunt Morgan. It happened fourteen years ago, I think… I was still a little girl back then, so I don't really remember it very well."_

"_Do you know what happened…?" I asked, not even knowing why I was interested in it, but finding myself curious somehow._

_Maya looked a little insecure. "I think she was ill… I'm not really sure. She had been lying in bed a lot in her last days and Mom, Iris and Dahlia spent a lot of time tending to her. But one day, she just… passed away."_

"…_I'm sorry." _

_I bit my lip and felt insensitive for having asked. _

"_N-No, don't be." Maya told him, shaking her head. "It's not like I even knew her very well. I can't even say if I was sad when I was told that she died. But… Iris and Dahlia were devastated. Iris especially. She wouldn't stop crying for days."_

"_Of course. They had just lost their mother, after all." I nodded, before I put my hand to my chin. "Still, there's one thing I don't quite understand about this."_

"_And what would that be?" Maya asked me._

"_If Morgan Fey is dead…" I started. "… then who is the current Master of the Kurain Channelling technique?"_

_All of a sudden, Maya smiled again, albeit only a bit._

"_Well, who do you think? Iris, of course!"_

"_Iris?" I asked surprised. "But… When I talked to her before, she called herself the 'next' master! That didn't sound like she had already taken the place."_

"_Because she refuses to accept she has." Maya explained to me. "Officially, she's the current Master. But she has never seen herself as the Master."_

"…_Let me guess: Because she thinks she's not ready yet?"_

"_To be honest, I don't think she'll ever believe that she's ready…" Maya replied, looking at the floor in a disheartened way, "She keeps putting herself down and claiming she's not good for this, and will never be able to do that, and so on and so forth… Sometimes, it's really depressing to hear her talk like that, you know."_

"_And 'me'?" I asked, making sure the emphasis on the word 'me' came out correctly "Didn't the 'me' of here do anything to stop her from talking herself down like this?"_

_Maya looked up. "I wouldn't know," she told me. _

"_Huh?"_

"_Iris and the other Nick didn't do a whole lot together when we were around." Maya told me, mimicking the way I has placed my emphasis. "But… usually, she was a whole lot more happy whenever she came back from spending some time with the other Nick."_

"…_Really?"_

_I probably reacted surprised to hearing this. This sounded… different from the other things I had heard about him so far. Maya nodded._

"_Whatever he kept saying to her… It really raised her spirits! And sometimes, it really looked like she had finally found a little, you know… 'Confidence'."_

The sound of the Steel Samurai's Theme called me back to the present.

We were probably already having reception again, so I knew what was going on the moment I realized that the music was made up of bleep-sounds. I already wanted to long into my pocket when I remembered that it couldn't be my phone, since that one was, unfortunately, still lost. Before I could even look up and see where else the music could be coming from, I felt how something fell into my lap. Suddenly, a dark red phone with a simple design was lying on my legs, vibrating.

"Wright, please do me a favor and answer this call for me," I heard Edgeworth telling me. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice. "I am… not particularly fond of accepting phone calls while driving."

_(Just say that you're not comfortable with doing it while driving down __**this**__ road. I'd be the very last one to laugh at you for this, believe me.)_

Absolutely agreeing with Edgeworth on the point that I should probably answer the phone rather than him, I quickly hit the green button and led the device to my ear.

"Hello? This is-"

"_Mr. Wright? Is that you?"_

I was rather surprised when I recognized the voice on the other end.

"Gumshoe?"

There was an uncanny sense of excitement – the negative kind – in Gumshoe's voice.

"_Where've you been, Pal? I've been trying to reach you for over two hours now! Did your cellphone run out of battery?"_

As always, I could downright picture Gumshoe's excited face before my mental eye as his slightly distorted voice reached me through the receiver. I was almost ashamed to answer that question.

"No, actually, it's not the battery. I just…kind of… lost it."

The reply came almost faster than I had finished mumbling the sentence.

"_You lost it? Where?"_

"…"

_(Sometimes I feel like Maya and Gumshoe had more in common than you see when merely looking at them. And I'm not talking about Junk Food.)_

"_So, you didn't get my text message?"_

"At the very least, I didn't read it." I told him truthfully. "Was it important?"

"_And how!" _Gumshoe downright shouted into his phone. "_Somebody has broken into your office, Pal!"_

My eyes widened the moment I heard this.

"W-What?" I pressed the phone closer to my face. "Wait… By 'my office' mean 'my' room in the local prosecutor's office, don't you?"

"_Eh… Well, sure, pal. It's not like you had any other offices I don't know of, right?"_

_(I guess, I shouldn't have asked that out loud.)_

I tried to get over that little slip of mine and continued to ask.

"But…Why? What did they want? Did they take anything important?"

"_They stole some old case files."_

_(File theft…?)_

"_But, it's kinda weird, you know… If you think about it, it doesn't make sense that those files were stolen at all."_

"What do you mean it makes no sense?"

"_Because the thief's choice of cases was pretty random, pal. Just a few completely unrelated cases… And the files from the BD-7 incident disappeared from the police archive too, around the same time__.__ Weird, given you never actually prosecuted that one, but it somehow looks like there's a connection between the thefts__.__"_

"BD-7?"

_(Where have I heard that before…? Wait, didn't Edgeworth mention that case earlier?)_

So the case files of an incident Edgeworth had spoken of to me just half an hour ago had gone missing, just today. Could this really just be a coincidence? Somehow, I had the nagging feeling that it wasn't.

"Is something wrong, Nick?" Maya asked me from the side, leaning over to me curiously. I covered the mic-end of the phone with my hand and looked at her.

"It's Gumshoe. He says that somebody has stolen something from my office."

Maya looked up surprised.

"From the office…?"

"Yeah. Apparently some files."

"_Mr. Wright? Are you still there?"_

I turned my attention back to the phone.

"Yes, Detective, I hear you."

"_I'll meet you at the office once you're back in town. I'll explain the details there, pal."_

"Alrigh-"And that's the moment I remembered my little 'date' with the human incarnation of suffering, which, for the record, _I was already late to begin with. _"W-Wait I can't meet you right n-"

"_I'll see you in a few minutes, Pal!"_

_*Click!*_

The repeated sounds of beep-beep-beep which followed told me that Gumshoe had hung up. Not good, considering that this was either going to cause him to wait at the High Prosecutor's office for hours, just to have nobody show up, or to make Franziska Von Karma wait even longer. The latter sounded like a more child-friendly way to say 'commit suicide'.

I sighed, putting my hand back onto the buttons of the phone.

"Ah… I better call him again…" I whispered.

Edgeworth interrupted me, "Wait, Wright."

I already had my finger on the 'dial'-button, when Edgeworth stopped me.

"Hm?"

Waiting for Edgeworth to explain why exactly I was supposed to 'Wait', I raised my head. Without turning around, he told me.

"I heard what you spoke about. There has been a file theft in your office, correct?" Edgeworth paused at this point, making it seem like he was thinking about something, "I don't believe that leaving the Detective and the Police to investigate in this matter alone now would be wise."

"Letting Von Karma wait even _longer _is not wise either." I replied, while listening to how unmotivated my own voice sounded when I did. Actually, I would really have rather investigated the theft in 'my' office with the perfectly harmless Detective Gumshoe, than investigate a crime scene I had already examined once before together with Franziska Von Karma. But this wasn't about what _I _wanted, obviously. I sighed. "Also, I wouldn't be much of a help anyway. I don't even know which of the prosecutor offices is supposed to be 'mine' right now, not to mention what's supposed to be inside there or what kind of cases I had filed. I would be more of a hindrance than a help, I guess…"

"Then maybe it would be better if someone else met with the Detective in your stead."

"Huh?"

Of course, I understood right away what Edgeworth meant by this, but my mind still needed one or two seconds to confirm that this was actually what he was trying to say. After all, it seemed a bit out of place. However, Edgeworth himself quickly reaffirmed what my initial thoughts with the following words.

"I will bring you to the apartment building for your meeting with Franziska von Karma. Right afterwards, I will pay the Detective a visit and ask him to explain the situation to me in detail and maybe look into the facts at the scene of the theft a bit myself, so I can pass the won information on to you. If you give me your written permission to investigate, it shouldn't be a problem. After all, this theft is in no way connected to our current case."

"But… why?" I asked slightly confused. "I thought you wanted to talk to Von Karma as well. Why would you give that up because of something that has nothing to do with you?"

"It will take a while until yours and Franziska von Karma's investigations on the crime scene are finished. I will come and attempt to talk to her later. For now, it is important to determine the true reason for and the amount of damage caused by that sudden file theft that took place in your office…" He lowered his voice a little after saying this. "I have a feeling that there is a possibility that this theft could stand in a more or less direct relation to your… current situation."

"But you… don't have any reason to do this for me!"

"Yes, I _do_ have a reason to do this."

Something in his voice alarmed me when he said this. I soon realized that it was because the tone in his voice sounded somewhat like he felt 'mocked' by me in a certain way... And still, it was a kind of tone I wasn't used to from him. Edgeworth made a short pause, before he continued,

"I'm doing it to _help _you. You're my friend, Wright. …At least you are again. Right now."  
I raised my head in slight shock at what I heard. It wasn't a 'bad' kind of shock, though. More like…a frightening surprise. If that makes any sense.

For a few seconds, I just looked at Edgeworth, who hadn't turned around while talking –a good thing, considering that he was still driving – and I wondered what his face might look like right now. But probably he had, once again, an expression on his face that I haven't seen in years now.

'Friend'… It was a term you only heard Miles Edgeworth use very rarely. The Edgeworth of 'my' world, of course…

"So, Wright?"

I raised my head a little, when I heard that Edgeworth was waiting for a reply.

"Eh… Yes, right." I nodded, despite knowing Edgeworth couldn't see me. "I guess it's really best if we do it like that. Thank you, Edgeworth."

I had just finished saying this, when I heard how Maya addressed me from the side.

"Remember that Miles and I are with you in this now, Nick," she told me. "We're not gonna let you down. We'll figure out what is really going on together."

She had her hands balled to fists by the time she finished that sentence and looked at me in a very determined way.

"Maya…"

I couldn't even say more than that. They really cared about me, didn't they? Despite not actually knowing the 'me' they were talking to right now.

Right after this, Maya winked at me, "And don't worry: If you need to know anything about the other Nick, just ask me. I remember it, so you don't have to! … And so you won't embarrass yourself again!"

The tone in her voice during the last sentence sounded a little bit like she was _expecting_ that I definitely was going to be humiliated without her help. I shook my head, smiled and sighed.

"That's… good to know, Maya."

"Hey! A little bit more excitement, please, Nick!" she returned, when she realized that I didn't look too impressed. "Also, where's my 'Thank you'? Come on, Miles got one too!"

I laughed when I heard this.

"Right," I told her, pausing a bit after this, before continuing. "Thank you, Maya."

"Heheh! You're welcome, Nick!"

And Maya just grinned at me, satisfied.

* * *

**May 2****nd****, 7:03pm**

**Apartment Building**

I leapt out of the elevator as soon as the door opened and took a deep breath. My eyes immediately wandered to my wrist and the watch I wore there.

"I-I don't believe it… We pretty much made it… Just three minutes too late." I said, sighing deeply.

"Good thing there's an elevator here." Maya, who was right behind me, nodded. "I mean, just imagine if everybody had to take the stairs all the way up here! Nobody would survive that! …Hm. Now I wonder why there are even stairs up here, Nick."

I raised my head up and turned around towards her.

"The elevator could defect, Maya," I explained. "What would you do in that situation?"

With an honestly straight face, she told me, "I'd get myself a ladder that reaches to your window… Or, if I want to get down, I'd call the fire brigade, so they can let me jump onto that huge, red trampoline they got."

"Eh… I don't think they have that thing so you can use it _that _way." I replied to Maya. "And, to be honest, you're the last person I want to discuss ladders with…"

"Ladder or not, there's no way I'm ever taking all those stairs. That can't be healthy."

_(But an all-junk-food diet is A-Okay…?)_

I had barely finished that thought, when Maya jumped and told me with her hands balled to fists and an excited look on her face,

"Anyway, we should get over to your apartment quickly! Von Karma is probably already the-"

***SLAP!***

Maya's pupils shrunk to half their size the moment the whip hit just half an inch behind her heels. She jumped again.

"Eeek!" she exclaimed, before she skipped out of the way and hid behind me.

_(Well, you just had to say it didn't you?)_

With Maya out of my field of vision now, I had a good view of another young woman. Guessing that woman's name shouldn't be a very difficult task, should it?

"You are late, Phoenix Wright," she said with a voice cold enough to freeze a volcano and the fitting expression on her face. She stretched her whip above her head as she did. The sight of this thing alone was enough to make me trip back an inch or so. I might have fallen, hadn't Maya been right behind me.

I put my hand behind my head and tried to appear confident, an attempt which failed spectacularly. I didn't need a mirror to know that.

"Heheh… Yeah…I had been… held up a bit…?"

Franziska did not look amused.

***SLAP!***

"YARGH!"

Correction: She definitely _wasn't _amused.

***SLAP!***

***SLAP!***

***SLAP!***

"OUCH!"

***SLAP!***

"OUAAAAH!"

As I was already on my knees, cowering on the floor, Franziska finally rolled up her whip again.

"Five strikes," she said, and then dramatically pointed at me. "One for every precious minute of my time you wasted!"

"Huh… I guess we spent two whole minutes talking there, Nick…" Maya whispered at me from behind, unwittingly raising the attention of the female Prosecutor in front of us.

"And what is this singer doing here, Phoenix Wright?" Franziska looked down at Maya, who was still cowering behind me. There was resent in her voice as well her eyes. "This is a crime scene, not a playground. I demand that this girl leaves."

"What? I'm not here to play! I am-"

"AH- I brought her for more questioning!" I quickly jumped up and interrupted Maya, before she could make the situation even worse. "She is the only witness the prosecution hasn't interrogated thoroughly yet, after all. And we don't want to give the Defense an advantage, right? …Ehe…"

"Hmpf…"

With sharp eyes, Franziska again looked over Maya, who was now standing right beside me. Poor Maya. She looked as uncomfortable with being looked at like this as one could look. Franziska, finally told me in a warning tone, "Fine. But don't let this kid touch anything. Otherwise, you will both meet a more… _unpleasant_ side of me."

I didn't like the way she played with her whip when she said that. I really didn't like it. Meanwhile, Maya who was beside me was mumbling something like _'But she's just nineteen too…'_ sounding very upset and even somewhat offended.

Probably not having heard this, Franziska turned around and left into the direction of the apartment.

"Maya," I whispered to her, when Von Karma wasn't looking. "This woman can be very manipulative if she wants to. She'll try to turn your second testimony tomorrow to her advantage. Don't let her influence you with anything she says, alright?"

Maya quickly nodded, "Got it," she paused a short moment. "...But I can't promise that I won't do anything stupid if she uses that whip again."

_(Well, at least she's honest.)_

"That thing hurts, you know."

Without even replying anything to this statement of the obvious, I followed the way Franziska Von Karma went, Maya right behind me. I saw her using a Key Card (probably a Master Key she received for the Investigations) to get inside and quickly followed, before the door could fall back into its locked state. Edgeworth had returned 'my' Keycard to me in the car before, but I still didn't feel like cramming it out right now.

Maya and I entered.

"So… this is where it happened," was the first thing I heard her say, as soon as we went through the door.

"Yes. 'My' Apartment… The scene of Ema Skye's murder." I nodded, once again putting an intentional emphasis on the 'My' Part. It still didn't feel right to accept this place as something that belonged to me, after all.

Maya was silent for a moment, looking through the room for a few seconds, before she lowered her head.

"I haven't been here for pretty long now … It looks different from before," she said.

I listened up.

_(So she was here before?)_

She then paused once more, before a smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Still, there's one thing that hasn't changed."

"And that would be?"

She clapped her hands together and grinned,

"It's still as untidy as ever."

_(Ouch.)_

"Hm…" I let my eyes wander across the room. "The remains of the staged struggle are still there. The police was apparently careful not to change a thing."

"If you hadn't told me that there was a staged struggle, I wouldn't have known that it wasn't supposed to look like that here," Maya bluntly once again stated when I said that.

"H-Hey…!"

_(How many times is she going to rub that in now?)_

Maya grinned again, "Nick can be so chaotic sometimes. You wouldn't believe it! …Don't look at me like that. I'm talking about the 'other' Nick, you know.

_(But why does it still feel like you were insulting __**me**__?)_

I quickly moved on a few steps and promised myself not to lose even one more word regarding the chaos in here, so Maya wouldn't find any more reasons to nag me about my cleaning habits or the lack thereof. As I kept looking around, Maya finally addressed me.

"Hey, Nick."

I turned towards her. She continued.

"That white chalk outline… That's where the victim's body was laying, right?"

I nodded, "Yes, that's how the police mark the spot and position in which the body was found."

_(I guess that is 'this' Maya's first time investigating a crime scene.)_

"Hm… It has roughly my size…"

"Huh?"

I looked at Maya in slight confusion, as she told me,

"I would fit into that outline too."

"Hm… Yeah, I guess you would. Ema was about your size. Maybe a bit shorter. But not a lot."

Maya shook a little when she heard that. Her head sunk.

"…"

"Maya?"

"It…could have been me just as well," she finally said, before she looked at me again. "If I had known whatever Ema knew… they would have probably killed me too, right?"

"…"

Maya sunk her head again. Finally, she whispered.

"I guess I was lucky…"

"…?"

I would have asked Maya what she meant by that, but barely a second after saying it, she just raised her head again and skipped two steps to the side. She was now taking a look at the vases and the flowers inside.

"Hm… Tulips… and Sunflowers? That's a weird combination for a flower bouquet." Maya then turned around for me and asked, "Are those your favorite flowers, Nick?"

"Actually, those are my _only_ flowers." I replied.

"Huh?"

"I can't name any flowers except for those two."

"Really? Just Sunflowers and Tulips?" Maya asked, giggling a bit. "That's pretty weak, Nick! How did you pass biology in school?"

"…"

_(I copied half of my tests from Edgeworth and other people who read more than me, but I guess I shouldn't tell her that. She would probably just laugh.)_

"Hey, you have a Dolby CD Player in that room!"

She didn't even give me time to think much about the things she told me. I quickly followed Maya, who was now standing in front of a black machine, resembling a stereo.

"Eh… Dolby…?"

"It makes you feel like you were right in the middle of the music!" Maya explained to me with a commercial-worthy smile.

_(In the middle? How does that even work?)_

"Hm… That makes me wonder…"

Maya jumped a step to the side and reached her hand onto one of the shelves, starting to go through its contents. Alarmed, I tried to stop her,

"H-Hey! Von Karma told you not to touch anything, remember?"

"Ha! Here it is!"

Triumphantly, Maya pulled a Disk from the shelf and held it above my head,

"I knew it was there!"

I tried to take a closer look at the object in Maya's hands, and asked her.

"What is it?"

"My three year jubilee compilation!" Maya presented it to me with a grin. "It was released earlier that year. I put re-edits of all my best songs on that thing! I don't want to brag, but I think it turned out pretty neat."

_(So, it's a MAYOI CD?) _I summed it up to myself. I examined the CD she showed me for a few seconds, before…

"Is something wrong, Nick?" Maya finally asked me.

I then looked up at her. "How did you know that this was here?" I asked interestedly.

Maya just grinned, "Oh, I… just kinda guessed!"

"Hm…"

I turned my eyes back to the CD Cover, which showed Maya, releasing a white dove into the air.

_(That's weird,) _I thought. (_I mean, Maya's not a bad singer, but… I've never been too big a fan of Pop Music. Why would the other Phoenix have bought a jubilee album?)_

Maya was talking again, "That reminds me… you haven't heard too many of my songs yet, have you, Nick?"

With those words, she pressed the CD into my hands and grinned. "Here. I want you to listen to every single song on this tonight!"

Startled, I took the disk and stared at my friend.

_(What? But those are about twenty different songs! When am I supposed to find time for that?)_

"And write me a review on each one! I want to see them by tomorrow, or you'll have to pay consequences! Heh Heh!"

_(Are you my teacher now?)_

I realized that I probably shouldn't even try fighting over this with her, so I just silently accepted Maya's little "condition" and took one more look at the CD, this time paying more attention to the title.

"Hm... _'Gyakuten'_?" I read out in an asking tone. _(Sounds somehow familiar…)_

Maya smiled, "It's Japanese. I think it roughly means 'Reversal' or 'Turnabout'. I thought it fit with most of my songs, so I chose it for a title. Japanese gives everything such a… cool sound!"

_(That doesn't change the fact that you obviously don't really speak it.) _I sighed. (_'Turnabout'… is that really the main theme of her discography? That sounds too much of a coincidence to be true…)_

Maybe it was just me, but sometimes I felt like my whole life was just a big, long line of twists and 'turnabouts'. Especially my last case in February that had made me feel like I had suddenly ended up in some kind of overly complicated Soap opera. Probably it was some kind of in-joke of fate that Maya had named her three year jubilee album that…

Still, this CD wasn't helping us with the case. I put it into my suitcase.

Just when I had closed it again and was standing up straight once more, I heard someone address me from behind,

"Quit fooling around with the witness, Phoenix Wright!"

***SLAP!***

The whip cracked just a few inches to my right. I jumped and turned around.

"Eh…" I was looking Franziska right in her very not-pleased face, "Y-Yes… Sorry about that. I just thought…"

She pointed me right in the face, "You are not here to _think _you are here to investigate, a task at which you are obviously not successful so far!"

_(Well, care to show me the evidence that __**you **__have found here in that case…?)_

"Stop looking at me with that foolish look in your eyes. It is your own fault we have to repeat these foolishly foolish investigations, which you and this fool of a detective messed up so horribly, once more. Miles Edgeworth is in possession of a great amount of information that we lack already. We can't allow the situation to remain this way until tomorrow."

"Ehm… Well, this would be a lot easier if I actually knew _what _we were looking for…"

***SLAP!***

There were times when I could control quite well what I was saying out loud, and there were times when I couldn't. This had been, unfortunately, an instance of the latter.

"Proof," Franziska told me, rolling up her whip again. "Hard, solid proof that Miles Edgeworth's theory is invalid!"

"Hm…" I thought a bit. What did Franziska probably want to hear right now? "I guess, that would be easiest to prove if there was evidence that Ms. Skye staged the struggle herself and that the suicide attempt was, in fact, real…"

"…Hm. Good."

Was that an actual _smile _I saw there on Franziska von Karma's face? Somebody poke me, this must be a dream.

"You are finally starting to show some shades of _competence," _she told me, then continued to speak in a way that sounded a bit like she was thinking aloud to herself. "Yes… Of course, proving that the suicide attempt was irrefutably real would shatter the Defense's claims that the suicide note was a fake... You!"

The slight smile disappeared again, as she flung her pointing finger into my direction again, "Investigate the scene of the suicide attempt right now! I will take over the examination of this room!"

_(In other words, you will be doing nothing…?)_

***SLAP!***

"What are you waiting for?"

"A-Alright, I'm going, I'm going!" I quickly exclaimed, before turning to the side, "Maya…?"

I found her with wide open eyes, looking tempted to hide behind me again.

"I-I'm coming too!" she stated.

Highly '_motivated_' by the threatening way Von Karma was still holding the end of her whip in her hand, Maya and me downright stormed towards the bathroom door. If a random person without any idea what was going on had watched us right now, they would have probably thought that we had just come home from a juice drinking contest or something among those lines.

As soon as Maya had entered behind me, I closed the door and sealed it. God be blessed for lockable bathroom doors.

"This is quite a large bathroom," Maya soon stated.

"Well, I guess your 'other Nick' had quite a large budget," I answered.

"Hm…" Maya suddenly eyed me suspiciously for some reason. She finally asked, "Say…Is that suit made of cashmere?"

"…!"  
Spontaneously, I looked down myself and rubbed the material of my jacket under my fingers.

"Eh… No… feels like always. Wool, I guess…"

Maya looked a bit disappointed at first, but then gave me a slightly pondering look.

"Well, I guess that's like him… Being stingy in the weirdest places."

_(Just because it's not silk or cashmere, it doesn't mean that suit wasn't expensive!)_

Just in case you were wondering, yes, I had noticed that Maya seemed to know a _lot _about the _'me'_ of here, but that didn't surprise me all too much. She knew my nickname after all. It was obvious that she had some kind of history with the guy, even though I wasn't really sure about the exact nature of that history yet.

I had decided to let the issue rest for now. If it turned out to be important, I could still ask Maya about it later. For now, I'd just enjoy the fact that she didn't hate me with every fiber of her being anymore.

We 'split' the room into two halves when we started our 'bathroom investigations'. I started taking a closer look at the shower where Lana was found after the crime, while Maya examined the area around the toilet. It didn't take long, till Maya was standing in front of the bathroom window, looking like she was pondering about something.

"What is it, Maya?"

"It's just… bathroom windows are always so tiny!" she turned around and stated, "You can barely see anything through that thing!"

"That's the point, Maya." I told her, "Would you rather be watched while… you know?"

"But this is the twentieth floor," Maya disagreed. "Nobody can look up all that way."

"Uhm… Yes, right… I guess…"

She then grinned, "See? You could have made the window a bit bigger, Nick!"

_(I thought we had established that I am __**not **__the one who lives here?)_

"I mean, look at this tiny thing! It barely lets in any light… Not even I would fit through that thing!"

_(Hm… Yes, she's right.) _I took a closer look at the window as well. _(This window is too narrow for a person to fit through. So it is not a possible escape route for the killer…) _

I was starting to wonder where the true murderer had taken all their time from. This crime was obviously very well prepared and they would have needed several minutes to set everything up. The next spot I investigated, the shower rod, pointed towards this as well.

"Hm… The shower rod looks very stable. And it's also quite high up. It's at least two and a half meters high. It would really be easy to hang yourself on that thing. On the other hand, one would have to get up there first before attaching the noose…"

Maya came up to me and nodded, looking like she was pondering about something again,

"And there are no chairs around… You think the killer used a ladder to attach the noose?"

When I heard the 'L' word, I barely even dared to bring up my argument… But I did anyway.

"Actually, seeing how there's no wall close enough to the spot where the rope was hanging, they would have needed a **stepladder**," I told her, already knowing what I had triggered with this. My mind started the obligatory countdown.

_(Three…Two…One…)_

As I suspected, Maya grinned and stated, "So, what? A ladder's a ladder after all, right? Seriously, Nick, you need to stop being so nitpicky about details! … Uhm…Nick?"

Maya then stopped smiling. She looked slightly worried all of a sudden

"Do you have something in your eye?" she asked me.

Surprised, I looked up.

"…Huh?"

I touched the skin under my eyes with my fingers and noticed that it was actually… a _little wet. _

_(What? What is going on now…? Don't tell me I'm actually crying because of… What's wrong with me?)_

"Eh… Sorry, if I said something wrong…" Maya told me, looking at the floor.

"N-No…" I quickly told her, wiping off the bit of tears on my face, "I was just thinking about… how great it is to have you back around."

_(That's really what I was thinking about,) _I realized. _(... Again. This is getting creepier and creepier with every passing minute.)_

I let the eternal 'ladder contra stepladder' debate rest for now, as well as the unpleasant feeling in my stomach that had become even harder to ignore now. Maya's presence and absence; Klavier Gavin, the rock-singing lawyer and little Trucy, the Magician girl… I knew that there had to be something I was suppressing, but I was starting to wonder if I even wanted to know _what _it was. It couldn't be anything good if my subconscious was causing me to shed tears over _stepladders. _

Maya, meanwhile, had carried on investigating 'her' half of the room. I heard her voice again.

"But at least _this_ is made of porcelain, right?"

She was pointing at the toilet.

I was slightly baffled, "Isn't _every _toilet made of porcelain?"

"It could be made of marble," Maya claimed. "…Or plastic. If Nick was being stingy again."

"Plastic? That's a bit extreme. I doubt that even _Gumshoe_ is poor enough to own a toilet like that."

"You never know," Maya claimed with her expression unchanged.

_(Yes, you never know, Maya. With you, that is.)_

"…Huh?"

I had wanted to return towards the shower, but something had captured my attention before I could do so.

"What's wrong, Nick?" Maya asked.

I took a step closer, "I thought I saw something… _shining _in the toilet."

"Hm? Shining."

Maya took a closer look, "Hey, you're right. There's something swimming in the water…"

"Well, let's get it out and see what it is."

"What?" Maya looked shocked at the thought. "From inside the toilet? EWW! That's beyond gross!"

"I didn't tell _you_ to fish it out, did I? Also, it could be a piece of evidence. We have to take a look at it."

"B-But Nick! That's a toilet! A _toilet!_" she told me with an extra amount of emphasis. "You never know what kind of stuff there is down that dark, dark drain!"

"Nothing you haven't seen before, trust me."

"But-!"

"Maya, there are no dragons or mutant turtles on the other end of that pipe."

All of a sudden, Maya was silent. I sighed, "Wait, I'll get it…"

Maya was still staring at me big eyed, obviously, cringing at the thought of touching something that came from the toilet. To be honest, I wasn't keen to do it either. Luckily, I knew enough about myself to "orientate" in the bathroom. I quickly found myself using a pair of rubber gloves for toilet scrubbing and got to work. Maya, despite obviously still being somewhat disgusted, watched me, as I reached in pulled out the object.

"And? What is it?" she asked, as soon as I raised my hand out of the bowl.

I raised the object up, so I could get a better view of it. What I could already tell was that it was transparent – That's probably how the police missed it during the initial investigations – and rather soft.

"It's a… nylon glove?"

Surprised, I took a better look at what I had fished out of the toilet bowl, just to confirm what I thought.

"A nylon glove?" Maya asked.

Slightly surprised myself, I nodded. "Yes… And there's another one."

I didn't quite know what this meant, but there they were. In my rubber-glove enclosed fingers, I was holding two transparent nylon gloves…

"Hey, Nick… one of them looks a little weird," Maya told me, after she took a closer look at my find, and I had to agree,

"Yeah. One of them is ripped. Pretty badly, actually," I examined the ripped glove closely, mumbling. "Even if they hadn't been in the toilet, at least this one would be unusable…"

"Do you know what this reminds me of, Nick?"

I turned towards Maya, "No. What does it remind you of?"

"Today's trial," she told me, putting her hand to her mouth "I mean, didn't you say something like this when you objected back then? Something about gloves and a toilet…?"

"I… did…? …Hey!"

I suddenly remembered what Maya was talking about…

_"The reason the Defendant removed the gloves she must have been wearing is the same as the reason why the murder weapon is lacking bloodstains! To get rid of the blood!"_

_"The… blood? So there was blood on her gloves…? Oh I see!"_

_"Yes. It would have been impossible for the killer to avoid getting blood on her hands… seeing how the victim was stabbed! So what would have been the Defendant's first move after entering the bathroom? Getting rid of this blood, of course! Now, tell me, Your Honor, if you had a pair of bloody gloves on hand, which you just wanted to have out of your sight, no matter what, what would you do?"_

_"Hmm…Throw them out of the window?"_

_"Not quite. You forget that the Defendant was found in a bathroom. And what does this bathroom conveniently feature?"_

_"A toilet!" _

_"Exactly! There's a simple reason why the defendant wasn't wearing gloves anymore when we found her and why we didn't find them at the Crime Scene… She flushed them down the drain!"_

"I-I don't believe it… " I said, slightly shaking my head. "I mean… I just said that for the sake of prosecuting a bit better!"

"But it looks like it was actually true…" Maya said. After that, she fell silent for a short moment. She lowered her head, before she started talking again. "N-Nick? Does that mean Ms. Skye actually…?"

"N-No…" I shook my head. "Don't worry, those gloves don't say anything… I made it sound more impressive than it actually is back in court. Those could be here for a different reason just as well."

"Hm, then…" Maya turned towards me. Enthusiasm was starting to shine in her eyes again, "Maybe those belonged to the real murderer!"

"…?"

"Well, our Nick is obviously using a different brand of gloves, right? At least the one you're wearing are different."

I nodded, "Yes. Those are rubber gloves." _(Feeling a little weird on the skin, but a lot more practical than those nylon gloves…)_

"That means, someone else must have brought them here!" Maya told me, "And that someone else… is our killer!"

"…Yeah, you're right." I thought a bit about what she said, while I kept examining the gloves. "That rip… maybe that happened during the crime?"

"I bet it did!" Maya said, "Come on, let's go and make the forensics dust the things for finger prints!"

I had to shake my head to that, "I'm afraid that won't work, Maya."

"What? Why?"

"They've been swimming in toilet-water for over twenty-four hours now," I explained to her. "There's not much of a chance that there's still fingerprints on them. I mean, look at them: If they were really used in the murder, there should be blood on them, but even that has apparently been washed off already."

Maya looked deeply disappointed, "Argh… And it could have been so easy…"

"I'm just wondering one thing," I had already put the gloves into a plastic bag and pulled the rubber gloves down from my hands. Now, I was tapping my chin with my, once again bare, fingers. "Why are those even here?"

"Hm…?"

Maya looked curious, so I explained it to her further, "If you remember what I said in court today, the killer would have probably flushed the gloves down the drain. I mean, even with all finger prints and blood washed off, they're still evidence."

"Maybe the killer was in a hurry?" Maya suggested.

"But pushing the Flush-Button takes barely a second. It doesn't make any sense…"

And no matter how much I thought about it, it probably wouldn't start making more sense all of a sudden. That's when I decided. I was about to pack the little bag with the gloves away to the remaining evidence, when I heard a voice behind me.

"So, you have actually managed to find something? I am surprised."

For some miraculous reason, that sentence wasn't followed by a whip-crack. Maybe she was starting to hate me a little less? In any case, Franziska Von Karma was coming over to us…

_(…Wait! Didn't I lock the door…?)_

"Nick…" I heard Maya whisper to me, "You know that you can easily open a bathroom door from outside with a coin, don't you?"

"…Oh."

Before I knew it, Franziska had arrived and taken the bag with the nylon gloves from me. She seemed very satisfied,

"Just what I needed. The proof that Lana Skye was, indeed, wearing gloves during the time of the crime!"

"Actually, there is no proof that it was her who wore the…"

Franziska's face fell that very second.

***SLAP!***

I jumped, tripped backwards and hid behind Maya, who seemed a little shocked about this,

"N-Nick! What are you doing? Don't leave me to face her!"

Franziska stepped closer to us, now once again having that piercing cold look in her eyes.

"While you are cowering so foolishly behind that foolish fool of a girl, Phoenix Wright, I would like to know why this door behind me here was locked."

"Eh…" I was coming out of my pathetic 'hiding place' again and tried to stand as upright as possible, "Force of habit… I guess?

She obviously didn't buy it. Playing around with her whip between her fingers, Franziska looked at us, telling me,

"You are lucky that I am somewhat satisfied with the new evidence you found, otherwise such a foolishly obvious lie would have earned you my 'special treatment', if you understand what I mean."

I gulped at the way she said that.

She then dramatically stretched her hand out towards us, "If you lie, lie at least convincingly, I say!"

_(Must be one of her life mottos…)_

"In any case, it looks to me like there is nothing else of interest here," Franziska just decided, making me wonder how she would know that, not having investigated here herself, "It is time to take care of a few other unfilled holes in today's trial."

"Holes…?" I asked a little confused.

Franziska clutched her sleeves and explained, "The main witness testified that there had been maintenance works regarding this floor on the afternoon of the crime. I think further information about this matter would prove useful."

_(Hm… Yeah, actually, we don't even know what exactly they were working on, right...? Heatherd was very vague regarding all of that…)_

"I want you to go down and interrogate the building's Janitor about the maintenance works on May 1st. Meanwhile, I will keep investigating the living room. Oh, and take the witness with you," she looked at Maya in a somewhat contemptuous way. "I can't use an annoyance like this here."

Maya looked like she didn't know whether to feel glad or highly offended.

"I am expecting you back in this apartment in thirty minutes… You know what happens otherwise."

She was proudly presenting her whip as she said this, so I knew very well what was going to happen if we weren't back within the next half hour. But, fortunately, I didn't think getting a report about the maintenance work from the Janitor was going to take longer than that anyway… Well, except for one thing maybe…

"Do you know where the Janitor's Office is, Nick?" Maya asked me with slight worry in her voice, as Franziska was already turning her back on us, expecting us to leave.

"Eh… Those offices are usually on the first floor, aren't they? Also, this is a huge building, so I guess it will be signposted…"

_(I hope…)_

"Hm…" Maya didn't seem very convinced by what I had told her, "We'd better hurry…"

I understood Maya all too well. I wasn't keen on getting Franziska Von Karma's _'special treatment' _either. However, my mind was still on three other things as the two of us returned to the elevator to go search the Janitor.

The first were the gloves we had found in the bathroom. The second was the theft in the Prosecutor's office, which Edgeworth was probably being informed about in detail right now.

…The third were the things I probably 'should' know but didn't know. I am repeating myself but: What was wrong with me? What had happened? The more unsettling things that happened over this course of events, the more I wanted to know this one thing. It was frightening me, even more than the thought of that 'other' me who I had been told was the antithesis of everything I believed in.

There was currently more than just one mystery to solve. Remembering this fact, I pushed the button labeled with a "1" in the elevator and returned to the building's first floor, alongside Maya.

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. But it was partially cut before it ripped.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Maya's Letter  
_Was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

_*)Misty Fey's Book  
_A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.

_*)CD  
_Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.

_*)Nylon Gloves  
_Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and current Master of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

_*)?  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

_*)Diego Armando  
_Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

_*)Pearl Fey(?)  
_Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

_*)Trucy  
_A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

_*)Morgan Fey  
_The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.

* * *

Alright guys… *sigh*…

I don't know how to apologize. Really, I don't. I gave you guys a one month hiatus. One freakin' month!

You deserve better. Seriously, you're too awesome to be let down like that. You give me 191 reviews (I still can't believe it) and I give you a 1 ½ month hiatus. I should be ashamed…

And, as the crowning extra, the detailed court record is still offline. Turns out the problems at CR are more complex than everyone would have guessed. Not on the technical level, but on the human level. To say it short: There is currently a donation drive for the admin handling the site going on. For a good reason too. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds. I had planned to set up a "replacement court record" on Live Journal, but have yet to do so. Excuse me.

But, at the bright side, it looks like everything was finally going to turn for the better. They said the Forum would be back online rather soon, as soon as they updated the Gyakuten Kenji 2 Info on the main site. Apropos GK2, I will talk about that latter.

As for what I have been doing, I first spend my Christmas holidays playing Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (Awesome Game, great storyline, wonderful characters, got obsessed with it.) and played Ghost Trick soon after this (Ditto.) I then went on to curse the fact that I can't find collectible figurines or action figures of either Aqua or Lynne anywhere (You don't find those if Maya either. What's up with that?) and went on to drown my Otaku-Misery in Ramune Lemonade. Well, actually, I bought myself a few posters to decorate my new room in my sis' and my house in Vienna, but you get the idea.

Oh, and talking about Christmas Holidays, my sister made me little clay figurines of Nick and Edgey for Christmas. With exchangeable faces! Isn't that cute? ^^

My Japanology studies are going surprisingly good so far. I passed everything, and my worst result was a 4 ("Barely passed") on an exam that half of the other students failed. I scored very well everywhere else though and can read 300 Kanji already. Which is why I feel able to take up a certain "Challenge" now.

You probably guessed it already, but I ordered the Japanese Version of Gyakuten Kenji 2. It already arrived and I'm going to pick it up from the post office tomorrow morning. And then, I will try to fight through all the Kanji Edgey will probably shoot me down with, in order to understand the (apparently surprisingly good) plot. Wish me luck.

About this chapter: I am really, REALLY glad now I have a huge file with detailed plot infos on my PC. Otherwise, I would have forgotten half of the stuff I had planned for this chapter. Really. I am still fighting , so I won't accidently create Plot-Holes though. You may have noticed, but I have a ton of intertwined side plots going on and keeping track of them is HELL. Sometimes, I forget what exactly the motivation of a certain character where, then I have to go back to the Info-File, read, read some more to get all the connections down again and keep writing… It can be frustrating, really.

However, I am speeding things up a little now. I decided to get right down to the point of several plot points quicker than I had planned, so I can make sure that everything will resolve satisfyingly once the time will come. The last new side-plot will be opened in the next chapter (A character you all know and either love or hate will make an appearance) and after that, there will be no new plot traits. I will just resolve the five hundred open ones after that… heh… heh… (Somebody please kill me… How can you enjoy and be tortured by something like this at the same time?)

I really enjoyed writing Maya in this chapter, especially in the investigation scenes. Coming up with dialogue for her is just huge fun. I know why I squeeled in joy when I could finally write her as cute and bubbly again.

Everybody, you are awesome! Read ya soon! (No, seriously, the next chapter will come sooner! I promise!)


	22. Stay Here!

**May 2nd, 7:35pm**

**Apartment Building**

The Janitor's Office was, in fact, signposted. This, in addition to the discovery that it really _was_ on the first floor, just like I had guessed, caused me a great deal of relief. I guess Maya was relieved too. At least she looked rather happy when we stood in front of the door to the Janitor's Office. Just this once, it seemed like life had finally decided to go easy on me…

"Eh? Nick! Look at this!"

But I had already jinxed it. Guess I should have thought _nothing_, right?

Maya's finger was stretched out towards the door, pointing directly at a sheet of paper hanging on it. Already having an unpleasant assumption about the contents of said sheet of paper, I took a step closer towards it. I read out loud,

"'_Absent for the day. Please try again tomorrow afternoon. Apologies for any inconveniences'_… Signed by a certain… '_Ján Ítor'_? …Seriously? That's his name?"

"Hm… That's not good," I heard Maya tell me and saw her tap her cheek with her finger and look at the ceiling. "The next part of the trial is tomorrow morning, isn't it?"

Of course it was tomorrow. Like always. Prep Time had always been a thing of legends – as in 'it goes down in history if you're ever given a significant amount of it' – in our court system. And this meant we had nothing to bring to Von Karma. _Wonderful. _

"Uhm… Maybe's there's another way of finding out what exactly the maintenance works were about?" I wondered to myself aloud, focusing on the ceiling for the moment myself. Looking at something as plain as a white wall always helped thinking. At least _me_. "We could figure out the phone number of the firm who did them and ask directly instead. Or, we could ask the other occupants of the twentieth floor…"

"Or…We could just take a look inside this office!"

"…?"

I was struck by confusion when I heard this somewhat odd statement and so I turned my head into Maya's direction again. That's when I saw her standing there, leaning against the door to the janitor's office, grinning. The _open _door to the janitor's office, I should probably add. As I was still wondering just _how _she managed to do _this_, she presented a dark brown tie to me. There was a huge grin on her face,

"This was stuck in the door! I guess that kept the lock from closing!"

With those words, things started to make sense.

"…And because the janitor's not here, nobody noticed the warning signal that's supposed to go off in his office," I concluded. _(That whole building's security is dependent on those locks closing correctly, after all… Why does this huge building only have __**one, single **__janitor to take care of all this, actually? That's just careless.)_

"Now? What are we waiting for?" Maya had a kind of smile on her face that was very familiar to me. The kind of smile that said '_I am eager to do something I am not supposed to do_'. "Let's go inside!" She told me, "Maybe we'll find something about the maintenance works in there!"

I did not quite agree with that idea.

"Wait! We can't just sneak in there and mess around with the Janitor's documents."

"We're not messing around with them," Maya winked at me. "We're just taking a quick peek! Also, do _you_ want to tell Von Karma up there that we won't get any info about the maintenance works until tomorrow after the trial?"

She had a point there. A _good _point, in fact.

"Just relax, Nick!" She told me. "You're a Prosecutor! Taking a look at stuff like this is part of your job, right?"

Of course, she was somewhat right, and even if she hadn't been, this was still far from the first time that Maya dragged me to investigate someplace I shouldn't have, but it still felt like I was 'intruding' in a territory I was not supposed to be in. After all, this place was _supposed_ to be locked, meaning that the owner had _not _intended us to just come and leave as we please.

Still, we needed that information and there was not really any other place we could get it from. Out of options, as usual. I sighed,

"Alright… But we're _only _checking for the maintenance works, Maya, OK?" I focused my eyes on hers, "No taking the Janitor's clothes, magazines, posters or doughnuts."

Maya looked quite offended when she heard that.

"You're talking like I was some kind of kleptomaniac, Nick!" She told me with a slightly reddish face and pulled-down eyebrows.

_(No comment)_

I took the door handle from her and opened the door for both of us, so we could enter.

What we found behind the door was a place that might have been called 'Janitor's Office' on the door's outside, but resembled something entirely different on the inside…

"Whoa!" Maya's curiosity visibly skyrocketed – I decided it was a good idea to keep a close eye on her from now on – when she saw the inside of the room. "Look at all those digital Doodads!"

This room featured several computers. Labeled with small signs, each of the machines seemed to have a different purpose and their cables were covering the floor, as well as the desks and, to a certain extent, even the walls. I don't think that any normal person would have guessed that, in fact, only one single man was working here. From the looks of it, I would have guessed that it would need at least three to run all those PCs and the devices attached to them. Then again, I don't know all too much about Computers. Maybe it was really possible to handle it all, if you knew how.

"This place looks like a secret hideout!" Maya concluded in a voice full of amazement.

"I was thinking more along the lines of an IT Administration Center," I told her. "But, yeah, there's quite a lot of stuff here… I didn't know an apartment building's janitor could need that many computers."

"It's the 21st century, Nick," Maya told me with a cheerfully melodic voice, "_Everything _is online!"

_(Everything but me. I don't even have Facebook.)_

"Well, what are we waiting for?" There was a downright frighteningly eager expression in Maya's face. "Let's try them out!"

"Maya, don't touch anything we don't need to touch," I warned her once again as her hand was already reaching for the mouse of the computer labeled _'Administration of Electricity'__._ "We only need the data regarding the maintenance works, remember? "

I threw her a disapproving look and so she quickly took her hand of the machine again, looking visibly disappointed. She proceeded to pout a bit, but only for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, I took a stroll through the room myself, trying to single out the source of the data I was searching for. Finally, I found something that seemed promising.

"…'_General Administration'_… I guess that one should do it."

Maya immediately took a quick step towards me, and declared, "I think we should check out _'Administration of Electricity'_ as well!"

Her pointing finger flung out into the direction of the computer she had just attempted to use. I turned around towards her, a big question mark on my face,

"'_Administration of Electricity'_…Eh… Why? How do you think that could help?"

"If we check yesterday's count, we know if the killer used the television set in your room!"

I stared at Maya for a few seconds, wondering if she was serious about this. When her tense expression didn't waver even slightest, I finally opened my mouth.

"…You know, I don't think I would exactly be in the mood to pleasantly watch TV, if a person I am about to _murder _could come through the door any second."

"That's because you don't have the sick and twisted mind of a killer!" Maya stated.

_(And you do…?)_

She didn't even seem to notice that I wasn't too amazed by her reasoning. I was about to just turn back to the 'General' computer, when I noticed that Maya was holding something in her hand, or, rather, in her fist. In her attempt to look firm and convinced, she had balled both of her hands. I took a closer look at the object she was clutching and didn't need more than two seconds to recognize it,

"You still have that tie…?"

It was the one she had found stuck in the door a few minutes prior. Maya smiled and nodded, quickly replying to my question. "I thought the owner might still be close by. If we come across them, I can give it back. If not… it makes a nice souvenir!"

_(There she goes again, just taking stuff… *sigh*)_

"And what if the Janitor is the owner?" I asked her finally. "He's absent today, so we'll hardly stumble across him."

Maya did not seem impressed,

"Actually, I don't think this tie belongs to an adult, Nick."

"…?"

I gave her a confused look. Maya registered said look and quickly handed me the tie, pointing at a certain spot on its front side.

"Look at the emblem," she told me.

When Maya said that, I finally noticed what she was talking about: A little picture, showing half of a red circle on a golden yellow background, was embroidered on the brown tie.

"That's the mark of that one local high school." I noticed slightly surprised and Maya nodded,

"Yeah. _'Rising Sun _High', wasn't it? Their boys' uniforms are bright red with dark brown ties…"

That, however, created more questions than it answered, "Wait…What is a High School Student doing down here in the Janitor's office?"

"Maybe the Janitor has a son enrolled in that school?" Maya suggested. "He could have been visiting his father… And when they left, the boy lost his tie!"

"Still, it's strange that he didn't notice it when the tie got stuck there," I voiced my opinion, "After all, the Janitor, of all people, should know how important it is that those doors close correctly."

_(Was that boy in a hurry…?)_

"You know, Nick…Maybe we should keep that tie for now." Maya was apparently pondering quite hard about that little thing. "You never knew when it might come in handy."

"I don't know." I told her. "I don't think blue and dark brown fit together very well."

"Hmpf! Not like this! I meant in case we meet the owner!"

_(Hey, Hey, I just made a little joke! Am I not allowed to do that once in a while…?)_

"Your jokes are really not all that funny, Nick."

_(…Not fair.)_

I was pretty sure that I looked embarrassed, so I tried to get away from the topic and just stored the tie in my suitcase, like Maya had wanted me to. Who knew, maybe it would really be useful later. I mean, I had no idea how a brown tie was going to help me with my current problems, of course, but, hey, I had seen weirder evidence in my cases already, right?

In any case, I turned my attention back to the computer, without leaving Maya out of my sight. Her eyes and hands were moving faster than it should be humanly possible, however, so I had a hard time watching her while still browsing through the computer files. Still, in the end, I somehow managed to find something.

"Here… I guess that should do it."

"Hm?" Maya strolled back over to me. "What is it, Nick?" she asked me, as I double-clicked the Excel-file I had found in the folder on the screen.

"A summary of all events related to the infrastructure in this building… I think."

"Infrastructure…?"

"Supplies and other things like that. Water, Electricity, Cleaning, the Phone Lines… All the stuff the Janitor has to take care of."

As I was still saying this, I scrolled down the huge list. It started with the 1st of January this year, so I had to skip quite a bit before I finally got to the 1st of May. Page 57 was what I was searching for. And there it was: The report on the maintenance works, written down neatly, along with the exact time frame it took place in.

"Alright," I said, "And now, let's print it…"

I hit a symbol on the screen and entered the numbers '57, 58' when asked which pages to print. The noise of the working printer to my left finally told me that it would be long until I would have the information for Franziska. I sighed relieved and leaned back,

"So much for that."

"Shouldn't we take a look on the security footage as well, Nick?"

I turned. Maya was pointing at the PC labeled 'Security', the only one which had multiple screens.

"The footage might show the real killer!" She told me with eager gleam in her eyes.

_(Hey… She's right!)_

I quickly got up from the seat and joined Maya, who had apparently noticed my approving look, over at the other PC, where she had already turned the screens on and was browsing through the menus.

"Don't you need a password for this…?" I asked surprised, when I saw how Maya just casually scrolled up and down the screen, searching the folders.

"You didn't need one for the other PC either, did you? …Looks like all the computers were turned on already," she told me. "I guess the janitor thought nobody was gonna come here anyway and left them running."

_(How… unprofessional?)_

"Wait, I'll have what we need in a sec… There!"

Just when I came to her side, Maya had double-clicked an item on the screen. Quickly, a grey window, labeled 'APA-CAM' opened. We were prompted to enter some information then.

"Now, the time frame… Eh, that was…"

"May 1st, between 15:00 and 18:00pm, 20th floor," I told her. I had widened the time-frame on purpose, just to make sure.

"Oh, right!" Maya nodded. "Alright, let's see what we have there…"

Despite using only four fingers, for some reason – maybe she never learned it properly? – Maya was typing a lot quicker than I would have expected of her and I was quite surprised. I had no idea she had any skills with computers. Then again, this Maya had spent a lot more time in the city than the Maya I knew. And, really, if you're writing a story worth a whole movie script, you probably need to be typing fast if you're planning on ever getting done.

"And… Enter!"

Maya hit the Button with an unnecessary amount of force, making me hope she wouldn't break it. The computer immediately started processing the data. The two of us could just stand there and wait for the results to come up. Finally, after about three minutes, a window popped up on the screen, accompanied by a loud sound. In bold, red letters, it spelled out to us:

_No Data_

"Huh?" Maya almost jumped. "It's… It's not there!"

"What? That can't be!" I blinked to make sure that I wasn't just seeing things. Apparently, I wasn't. The "No Data" window remained.

Maya tried again and again, but the window just kept popping up, as she turned more and more confused. Finally, she tried entering other floor-numbers for the same timeframe, but to no avail.

"It's no use… The data's gone!" She gasped.

"But it can't be gone!" That made no sense. Why would the janitor erase the camera data of the day a _murder _happened? "Wait…I'll try!"

I quickly leaned over the keyboard and, watched by a still startled Maya, I tried typing in the data in again. Of course I knew that it made no difference whether Maya or I typed in the data; the result would stay the same; but a tiny bit of hope within me that Maya might have just made a mistake or typo over and over again was enough to make me try again in my desperation for solid evidence. However, I was typing so hastily, I accidentally hit the '_F5_' button somewhere along the way. The speakers then gave up a 'Bleep' sound. Immediately, a different window came up. I backed up from the screen.

"H-Heh…? What's happening now…?"

"I think you brought up the live-camera," Maya told me, "Look, the window has a clock in the upper corner."

Said clock was giving our exact current time.

It didn't take long until the other screens of the computer started turning themselves on as well, apparently all by themselves. Footage showing different parts of the building started coming up.

"I-I didn't mean to do that!", I uttered when I saw the different camera images coming up. That wasn't just useless, but embarrassing.

"Well, you did." Maya told me. "You're really clumsy, Nick."

And it only got more embarrassing.

"Eh… Anyway… Let's just bring up the other screen again."

I wanted to quickly switch back to archive-mode before Maya could go on to make any comments on my skills with computers, but her sudden, loud gasp beside me distracted me.

"H-HUH!"

My head turned into her direction, "Maya, what's wrong?"

"Nick! Look at that!", she told me and her finger flung out towards one of the additional screens before us.

It was the top right one, labeled '_4__th_ _floor hallway_'. Alarmed by the tone in Maya's voice, I immediately took a closer look at it. The picture wasn't entirely clear, so it was impossible to make out details… But there were two people standing in the hallways, talking.

- No. Actually… It looked more like they were _fighting._

I knew that for sure when one of the two, after gesticulating wildly, just went on to charge for the other and tried to hit him. The second person dodged, but just barely.

Maya gasped, "Nick! Those guys…"

"I think those are teenagers…" _(The blur makes it hard to tell, but judging by their heights…) _"They're having an argument of some kind."

"If they go on like this, something might happen! We need to stop them!"

"The screen says it's on the 4th floor," I nodded. "Quick, let's get up there!"

Maya jumped up from the chair she was sitting in, "Yeah!"

As soon as Maya agreed with me, I grabbed the papers I had printed and stormed out of the room, closely followed by her. We had no idea where exactly the camera which had filmed this scene was stationed of course, but at least we knew the floor. The fourth one… That wasn't too far up. Not even thinking about taking the elevator, the two of us ran up the stairs, listening closely for voices. Whatever the two boys – it seemed they were both boys, at the very least – had been fighting about, it must have been a rather intense disagreement they had. And I knew how this kind of disagreement could end. I had all too much experience with this…

The problems on hand were big enough already. If it was possible, I wanted to avoid having anymore incidents of that kind around here. And so, Maya and I sped up-

"UHF!"

We had just reached the 4th floor, when I ran into something. Or, rather, someone. It was too soft to be a normal object…

"Huh! Nick!", I heard Maya's voice

"Sorry, Sir!", I heard someone else's voice, proving that the 'object' really had actually been a person.

I didn't even have the time to actually register what the person who rammed me looked like, since I had closed my eyes out of reflex immediately during the impact. As my behind hit the same ground which had been beneath my feet just a second ago, the steps I heard beside me told me that whoever had just pushed me over was already continuing his way again. And rather quickly too. He might have excused himself, but he still didn't even bother to help me get up.

Maya, however, had that decency.

"Are you alright, Nick?" She asked me, lending me a hand.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

_(Is it just me or are a lot of people just ramming me lately…?)_

I took a look around. While I wasn't able to spot the person who knocked me over, I saw how the elevator door, not too far from us, closed.

"There he goes…" Maya said, confirming my suspicion that the person using the elevator and the person who rammed me were one and the same. "Whoever that was, he sure was in a hurry…"

"Yes… A real hurry. Almost like he was _running_ from something…"

"We should be running now too!" determination gleamed in Maya's eyes. "The guys from the security camera…!"

I nodded, "Yeah. They have to be somewhere around here…"

My eyes wandered around the area, and I was listening closely for voices or other sounds, so we'd know what direction to go now.

_(Huh… That's weird… If there's a fight going on close by, shouldn't there be some noise?)_

It was then that a thought crossed my mind, like a light bulb had been switched on.

_(Wait! That person just now… Could it be that he…?)_

Loud panting approaching us took my mind off this train of thought. Really, _really _loud panting, in fact. It was only interrupted by the following words.

"…E…Excuse me! Miss! Sir!"

And the panting resumed, along with steps into our direction, growing louder.

_(…Hm?)_

I, just like Maya, turned my head to see who was addressing us.

A young boy with brown hair came running down the hallway, right towards us. To say that he looked excited would have been a huge understatement; in fact, he was sweating so much, his skin was reflecting the electrical lights of the place like the surface of a pool of water.

He was wearing rather neat clothes, however, the way he wore said clothes wasn't really all that neat. Half of the buttons were open, like he had just closed the most necessary ones hastily and also his hair looked like he had attempted to comb it back nicely, but something just went… _wrong. _Two strands of hair were sticking out for apparently no reason, making it look like he had just decided to stop combing before he reached them. Those two strands obviously weren't meant to look like that either, since he kept brushing them out of his face.

The boy finally reached the two of us, still panting so loudly, I downright felt sorry for him. I would have offered him some water, had I had some with me…

"S…Sorry! Miss! Sir!" He coughed out as soon as he had taken a few breaths and some air in his lungs to use to talk.

Maya seemed a little startled, probably because of the boy's entrance.

"Y-Yeah…?" She asked.

The boy immediately stood up straight, his hands both balled to fists. He was looking at both of us with so much determination in his eyes, I almost felt the need to step back.

"Have you seen a boy my age coming past here? A little shorter than me, black hair, wearing the same uniform as me?"

_(…Uniform…?...Hey…)_

Only now I noticed what kind of clothes the boy was actually wearing: It was the bright red uniform of the Rising Sun High, which Maya had mentioned earlier. In fact, it even had the emblem sewn onto its pocket…

As I wondered if this could be a coincidence – I doubted it – Maya was already about to answer the boy's question, pointing at the elevator behind us,

"Well… Yes, we saw him. He just took the-"

"_ARGH! DARN IT!"_

I mentioned the 'need to step back' earlier. For Maya, this need came into effect now. Probably because of how the boy had suddenly just started shouting without even letting her end the sentence. It was good that she jumped away though, since this spared her suffering the same ramming-fate I had been subjected to earlier: The boy wasn't even done with his two – or can you call that three? – words, when he sprinted off towards the stairs and ran down them.

And that's how he made his exit.

Maya and I looked at the stairs he took for a little while, dumbstruck.

"…What was that just now?" Maya exclaimed.

I had no answer for this. So I did nothing other than… stare at the stairs for a few seconds more, before I finally took my eyes off them. Maya turned towards me.

"Anyway! Our brawlers-"

"Maya," I looked at her. "I believe those _were _our brawlers."

"Huh?" there was a sense of surprise in her eyes. "You think so?"

I nodded at her. "Yeah. I mean, how many quarreling boys can there possibly be on this floor?"

"Hm… I guess you're right." Maya tapped her chin a bit with her fingers. "Hey, but one of them escaped! That means he gave up and we don't have to separate them anymore, right?"

"Eh… yeah, right."

_(I just hope no one else has to do it late…)_

"Hey, Nick, look! There's something on the floor!"

_(…Hm?)_

Maya was already bending down when I looked to see what she meant. She was just picking it up.

"What a pretty necklace! You think one of the boys just now lost that, Nick?"

She stood up again and showed to me what she had found.

It was a green enamel pendant, shaped like a clover.

"…!"

My alarm bells went off.

_(That first boy… That was...!)_

The look in my face was apparently worrying Maya,

"Uhm… Nick? Something wrong…?"

"_ARGH!"_

This time, it was me who gave Maya the reason to jump out of the way and it was also me this time who attempted to sprint down the stairs with full speed. At least until I heard Maya shout after me from behind,

"Nick! Where're you going?"

I turned back around. She had followed me the few steps I had run already, so I didn't need to shout.

"That necklace, Maya… I saw it before. It belongs to Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend!"

"W-WHAT? You mean… Doughnut Girl?"

_(The nickname got stuck now. Well, serves her right.)_

I quickly nodded at Maya. "I questioned her again after the trial and this pendant came up. Turns out her boyfriend is a witness to the crime as well, more or less."

"But… what's a high school student doing with the pendant of this girl's boyfriend?"

I barely even dared saying it,

"…I think that high school student _is _her boyfriend…"

"…What?"

It was a rather flat 'What' Maya had sounded out there. Like she believed –or hoped – that she had just misheard me. I really couldn't blame her for that.

"Wait…

I took the clover pendant from her and put my fingers to notch, in order to open the locket up.

"Here… Look at that."  
The same photo I had seen several hours prior was revealed once again. Maya's eyes widened quite a bit when she saw it.

"H-Hey! That's… The boy who just ran into you!"

_(I knew it…)_

"Yes. And he's one of the people whose fingerprints were on the apartment door…"

"And you're trying to tell me that this boy and Doughnut Girl are…?

Maya seemed less than ready to believe it, so I slowly nodded to assure her that, yes, it really was the case. She didn't look to fine with the thought of the two of them being a couple. Again, I couldn't blame her.

"I wonder if he was here to visit her," she finally stated.

"I'm actually more interested in who that boy who fought with him was," was my reply. "He seemed pretty agitated when Sengage escaped him…"

"You weren't exactly calm either when you realized who he was just now," Maya reminded me.

"Ehe…" Another laugh of embarrassment. Those were getting even more frequent lately. "Anyway… I guess it's not like I could catch up with him now, is it?"

"No, not really.," Maya agreed. "After all, we don't even know which floor he went to, do we? We'd have to search the whole building…"

"And he'd be long gone before we finish that. Assuming that he's not left the building already, of course."

I sighed. Another chance to interview a witness just disappeared into nothingness.

"Well… at least we still have this." I held the clover locket in my hand, closing it. "If we're lucky, he'll notice and come back to reclaim it."

"And if not, you can still call him up during the trial, right?" Maya pondered a bit. "I mean, he's a High School student, and we even know which school he visits, so it shouldn't be hard to summon him during a thirty minute recess. It's Friday tomorrow, after all… And Rising Sun High isn't too far from the courthouse, just like this place."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's just hope that boy doesn't have a habit of skipping school…"

I rolled the necklace into a ball around the pendant, so it wouldn't get stuck on any of the other evidence, and put it away with the rest of my things.

"Anyway, we should probably get back to the 20th floor now," I told Maya. "I'm sure we're already past Franziska's due-time…"

"There was a due time?"

"No actual one. But this is Franziska Von Karma we're talking about here. As far as I can tell, the word 'patience' is not even in her vocabulary."

Maya didn't look very happy when she heard this, "And I think the word 'mercy' isn't either…"

She shivered a bit. That was enough to tell me that she was agreeing with me.

"Alright. Let's go back."

The two of us headed for elevator after this. There was only one more thing which caught my eyes before we boarded it.

_(Now that I think about this… There are __**two **__elevators here, right?)_

I took a look to the right, just to make sure that this other elevator wasn't out of order or anything. It really wasn't.

_(I should keep that in mind. Two elevators mean one more way to miss another person coming through…)_

* * *

We arrived back at the 20th floor. Maya and I had used our time in the elevator to prepare mentally for what was coming to us. Namely: Whippings and screaming. I had offered Maya to just wait outside while I go and talk to Franziska, but she had refused, telling me that we were going to pull through this together. Brave, brave Maya.

So, we were prepared for everything that could be waiting for us. Except for the case that there could be _nothing _waiting for us. And that's the case we were confronted with as soon as we opened the door. Silently and confusedly, Maya and me stared at the interiors of the living room. No Franziska. No Franziska and no whip. In fact, nobody was there at all.

"Huh?" Maya took a step inside. "Now, that's weird… Where is she?"

"I have no idea…" I told Maya truthfully.

_(What could have possibly happened to cause Franziska to abandon her *perfect* investigation…?)_

"Hello?" Before I knew it, Maya had taken a few steps more into the apartment. "Anybody there?" she asked in the probably loudest voice she had in stock.

"Psst! Don't shout like this!" I quickly told her, in surprise. "It's 8pm! There are other people living here, you know."

Maya replied to this with a huge grin, "Aww, Nick, you think anyone actually keeps an 8 o' clock bedtime nowadays? How naïve, how naïve…"

"That's not the point!" My shoulders were pulled upwards, towards my ears, when I crossed my fingers and hoped she just would cut it out with the shouting without any further discussion. Maya was really incredibly hard to keep under control sometimes. Her impulsive curiosity was usually really useful for finding clues, of course, but for just keeping quiet and being unassuming… not so much. I didn't really want neighbors to come run over here to complain now, just to find that I am 'playing around' with 'that girl' rather than getting my job done. This scenario was especially undesirable right now because of what had happened in court today – I wondered if the evening issue of the local boulevard press had already caught wind of it.

It's a good thing that Maya came up with a much more useful idea before she could call out loudly for Franziska once more,

"Hm… Hey, the bathroom door's closed. Maybe she's in there?"

Maya turned towards the door to said room, as I walked up to her,

"I thought she wanted to investigate further in the living room?"

"Yeah, but that's obviously not where she is right now, right?"

I couldn't argue with that, of course. Before I had said anything else, Maya has already headed for the bathroom door, grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door. To no avail. She tried to spin the knob a bit, before she gave up.

"Huh…Locked. You think she is…?"

I shook my head, "Maya, we just found evidence in that toilet. I don't think she would… Well. It's part of the crime scene now, after all. And…"

"…And the crime scene should never be altered. Got it, got it," She nodded, before she led her fingers to her lips and started pondering. "…I wonder why she locked the door. Didn't she want us to bring her evidence?"

_(Actually… I wonder about that too.) _I thought to myself, _(Why would she be locking herself in there when our time is sparse already? That's pretty counterproductive, if you think about it…)_

"…Oh! I know what we do!"

"Hm?"

I was just in the process of turning my attention back to Maya, when she had already put her hand into her bag and started cramming for something. It didn't take her more than a few seconds to pull out a bit of change. A slightly mischievous grin appeared on her face, as she let the coins bounce in her palm. For some reason, I didn't like where this was going.

"Uhm… What do you need the money for, Maya?"

"Oh, really, Nick. You can't tell me you forgot again already. I mean I told you before, didn't I…" she grinned even more. "About coins and bathroom doors?"

"…!"

Should I be embarrassed that this actually caused me to have a kind of 'Aha!-moment'? In any case, I now knew _why _I hadn't liked this from the beginning. And I still didn't.

"W-Wait! Maya! If she's locked the door herself, you can't just-!"

Sometimes, Maya could also act like she was deaf. That didn't stop her from pleasantly humming to herself, of course, as she put a nickel into the slit in the doorknob and twisted it around.

Impulsive curiosity. Apparently causes you to open locked bathroom doors for no good reason. Any more questions about it?

*Click!*

"Done!" Maya joyfully informed me.

_(Yes. We're really done, if Von Karma notices that you did that.)_

Well, the door was open now. There wasn't really anymore use to stop Maya from going on now, so I just watched, as she put her hand on the doorknob again, turned it, started to open the door and-

"…_So I just wondered if this could be your real reason for your interest in this case. That's all."_

"_Once again, I tell you, I have no idea what you are speaking of!"_

"Huh!"

Maya backed off from the door, startled, when she heard the voices. I, too, took a step back.

_(Franziska…She's talking to someone in there…)_

I took a step closer again.

_(Wait… That other voice is…)_

Maya and me were probably both thinking the same thing at the moment, since we both reacted the same: We re-approached and carefully tried to glance through the partly opened door.

"You know very well what I am talking about, Franziska. You can't tell me you didn't notice them. The connections between those cases are obvious."

"Hm. And I should care about this, because…?"

"We both know that you care about this more than most other people we know."

"…You are talking too much, Miles Edgeworth. Should you actually plan on getting to the point any time soon, get there **now**."

_(Edgeworth…? What is he doing here…?)_

Maya and me kept listening attentively, as Edgeworth, after a short pause, finally resumed talking.

"This afternoon, somebody stole files from Phoenix Wright's office. …I wondered if you knew anything about this…?"

*SLAP!*

"What? You are not accusing me of theft, are you?"

"Gnn… No, certainly not. But it is certainly curious, Franziska. Of all the possible cases you could have chosen to confront me in, you took the one in which _he _is involved. Maybe it is merely a coincidence, yet…"

*SLAP!*

"It is a coincidence. Believe me, I would not have offered my services, had I known what kind of incompetent fool I would be forced to babysit. And I don't know how you can even come _close _to assuming I could be even vaguely interested in any of the foolish cases this foolish fool has led already!"

"…So you truly have no idea who this man actually is?"

"Does it matter much? What kind of significance could he possibly hold to me?"

"... Franziska. Among the files which were stolen from his office today were they files of a… certain case that most likely does, in fact, bear a very important significance to you, Franziska."

"…Hm?"

"I am talking about the BD-7 incident, Franziska."

I could hear audibly gasping at this point, even though she was trying to hold it back.

"S-So this clown of a prosecutor is really…? …I… don't believe this."

"You should probably also have a look at this, Franziska. It was found at the scene of the theft today."

"…! This… This card…!"

"Yes. The material is different from the one they used to be made of, and it doesn't appear to be as carefully crafted either… But I am still not certain that this is a fake. If it is, in fact, real… There might be even more to this case than we always assumed. A lot more, in fact."

"…I always knew it."

Franziska paused, before I saw her pointing at Edgeworth in an accusing way from behind,

"I always knew that this case wasn't closed yet! I knew it from the very beginning.

*Slap!*

"So…Tell me, Miles Edgeworth, how does it feel to finally realize that your greatest victory was actually your greatest failure?"

"And now, it is my time to have no idea what you are talking about. Since when are we talking about victories and failures here?"

*Slap, Slap!*

"Stop this foolishness! You know very well that the trial should have ended on a different sentence! And even if that sentence wouldn't have been "Guilty"… You know just as well as me that there was always something missing, right? Because your cute, little theory, with which you managed to confuse that senile fool of a judge so successfully, would have required something that just wasn't there… Another person. A person, who was never found!"

"…"

Edgeworth stayed silent for a moment, but something told me that Franziska had hit a nerve with what she had said. Maybe it was the uncomfortable way he attempted to turn his head away from her.

"So, if I asked you now, Miles Edgeworth… Would you be able to tell me? Tell me the identity of that person you failed to hold responsible for their crime?"

"…I can't. Not yet, at least."

And he paused uncomfortably once more.

"But I think that this case is closer to finally coming to a conclusion than you believe."

"Hm. The foolish thoughts of a foolish fool aren't even worth the foolish air they were breathed out with if the fool who said them can't even present proof."

"You want proof, Franziska? Just look around. I think this crime scene alone should be proof enough."

"This… crime scene?"

"Franziska. No matter where I investigate or search for information and clues… Everything always comes back to one name. One person is at the center of it all… And it appears to all be cumulating with the events of the past seven days. Climaxing in a murder committed in the very apartment of this person, who stands at the center of it all. And that man's name is…"

"…Phoenix Wright…"

Franziska finished the sentence with disbelief in her voice. I could relate to this disbelief so well.

_(Me… at the center of everything. Ema's murder, Mia's and Dahlia's arrest and sentence… and now whatever case is tying together Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma as well…)_

In any case, Franziska appeared to be startled,

"Ungh… This fool… This man… Who is he really?"

"I'm afraid this is the greatest problem right now… as not even he himself might be able to answer this question. But we are getting closer, Franziska. Soon we will be able to finally uncover the truth behind all of this… I have faith in this."

"…Why…

Franziska paused.

"…Why are you telling me all those things… Miles Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth then lowered his head a little, but it still looked like he was trying to keep his eyes focused on Franziska.

"Because I want you to take some time to think about what you are doing here… Franziska Von Karma. And if this is really the path you want to walk down."

"Hmph! What do you know about my 'path'?"

"More than enough to tell that you are committing a mistake which you are actually wishing to escape from. An enormous one, in fact."

"… You don't even know what you are saying, do you…?"

"_Wie sieht sie eigentlich heute aus… Die Narbe, auf deiner Schulter, Franziska?"_

"…!"

As Franziska backed off from Edgeworth startled, Maya started whispering to me from the side,

"W-What…? Why did she react like that? I didn't understand a thing of what he just said, Nick!"

"Me neither…I-I guess he's speaking German…"

_(Darn! How am I supposed to know what they're talking about now…?)_

I continued listening, in hope that Franziska wouldn't switch to her native tongue now… Regrettably, she did. She grabbed her right shoulder in a protective way, before she resumed talking.

"…_Wie kannst du es wagen… "_

"_Franziska…"_

Edgeworth took a step towards her,

"_Ist dies wirklich der Weg, den du gehen willst? Der Weg deines Vaters… Des Mannes, der dich mit dieser Narbe versehen hat? Ist es wirklich sein Erbe, das du dein ganzes Leben tragen willst? __Trotz allem?"_

Franziska clutched her hand around her poof-sleeve. She kept backing off a bit more, before she finally responded,

"_Was.. Was weißt du schon… Du… Was wirst du jemals über mich wissen?"_

She made a short movement, like she was about to hit – and not whip- Edgeworth, but it stayed at that. She didn't actually strike.

„_Du… Du hast kein Recht zu glauben__,__ dass du mich kennst! Du hast keine Ahnung!"_

„_Ja… Vielleicht habe ich keine Ahnung."_

Edgeworth took a step towards Franziska.

"…_Ich werde wohl nie wissen, was in einem vorgeht, wenn man mit einer Person wie deinem Vater für so lange Zeit zu leben hatte. Aber… was ich weiß ist, dass der Weg den dein Vater beschritten hatte nicht der richtige war."_

Yet another short pause.

"_Franziska. __Um ehrlich zu sein… ich bemitleide dich. Du könntest vollkommen anders sein. Das ist eine Tatsache. Denn wenn es eine Sache über dich gibt die ich mich Sicherheit weiß, dann ist das, dass du ein im Grunde gutes Herz hast."_

Franziska turned away again.

"_Ungh…"_

Edgeworth attempted to make her look him in the eyes,

"_Du solltest dir noch einmal überlegen, ob du dein Leben wirklich auf diese Art und Weise führen willst. Tue nichts, was du am Ende bereuen würdest… Denn dann wäre es zu spät. __Verstehst du?"_

"_Hm…"_

Finally, she turned her head back at him,

"_Das von jemanden, der schon seit Jahren eine Mörderin in Schutz nimmt!"_

I could see a faint, but strange kind of smile appearing on Edgeworth's face,

"_Also bist du dir sicher, dass sie die fehlende Person ist?"_

„_Es kann doch nur sie gewesen sein… Das Mädchen war auf dem Band, und du weißt es!"_

„_Aber du hast keine Beweise dass es sie war, nicht wahr?"_

In case you were wondering: We were still there and watching this German soap opera.

_(…I should have learned German. Without any dialogue, this scene looks like something it hopefully isn't… I really hope it isn't… Especially because Edgeworth has a girlfr-… ARGH! I thought of that again!)_

Franziska, once again, took a few steps back. She looked contemptful,

„_Du dummer Dummkopf der in seinen dummen Fantasien nicht einmal bemerkt, wie dumm er wirklich ist! Dumm genug, um die Mörderin seines eigenen Vaters nicht zu erkennen, wenn sie direkt vor ihm steht! Ob er wohl noch so stolz auf dich wäre wenn er davon wüsste?" _

At these words, it was finally Edgeworth's turn to look startled again. Slowly, he turned around,

"_Ich weiß was ich tue, Franziska. Glaube es mir."_

„…_Und du möchtest wirklich keine Rache für ihn? Wie erbärmlich…"_

„_Unsere Definitionen von ‚erbärmlich' unterscheiden sich wohl sehr stark…"_

He looked at her again,

„_Rache ist nicht der Weg. Und sollte dies wirklich der einzige Grund sein, warum du Interesse an diesem Fall gezeigt hast… dann solltest du jetzt aufhören. Diese Sache ist ernst. Deine kleine Privatfehde sollte sie nicht in Unordnung bringen. Zumindest nicht, bis ich die Wahrheit gefunden habe."_

„_Und aufgeben und zusehen, wie du diese Schande von einem Staatsanwalt in den Boden rammst? Ich bitte dich! Merke dir meine Worte, Miles Edgeworth, ich lasse nicht zu, dass du diesen Fall gewinnst… Und wenn ich diesen Clown zwingen muss, die Leitung der Anklage an mich abzugeben!" _

*SLAP!*

A loud crack echoed through the air, as Franziska resumed talking,

„_Das schwöre ich bei meiner Peitsche!" _

„_Hm…"_

Edgeworth then let his eyes wander across the room for a bit, before he said,

"_Ein Clown, ja, vielleicht ist er das. Du solltest ihn dennoch nicht unterschätzen. Seine Sturheit kann Berge versetzen, glaube mir... Auch wenn mir seine neu gewonnene Tendenz__,__ Leute zu belauschen ehrlich gesagt Sorgen bereitet…"_

„_Huh…?"_

Franziska looked at Edgeworth, like she had just realized something. Her expression gradually changed from angered to startled to confused to… angered again.

" '_Belauschen…'_… **E-Eavesdropping**?"

_(Oh crap…)_

'Eavesdropping' was a word I understood, though a part of me wished I hadn't understood it, since my heart started racing in panic when I heard Franziska's voice switching back to using English intonations as she said it and saw her head slowly turn around, towards the door. Her eyes seemed to be catching fire as she did.

Maya besides me was frozen like me, as far as I could tell.

I would have bolted now- had I had time to do so. But Franziska acted incredibly quickly. Before I had even finished registering what was happening, I already had the door in my face. The door literally _slammed_ into me, with horrific speed and enough force to catapult me back a few meters across the room. I ended up on the floor there, loudly moaning and seriously wondering if my nose was broken now. It felt like it was broken.

"N-Nick!" I heard Maya shout in shock, just a moment, before loud, angry steps approached her from the bathroom,

*SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!*

***SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP!"**

"KYAAA!"

I heard Maya shriek.

When I finally got up from the floor again, I found her lying on the floor, Franziska standing in front of her, tightly clutching her whip. She had whipped Maya unconscious- Not the first time that this happened, but still pretty horrible.

And I was next.

I gulped, when I saw how Franziska turned around, stepping towards me, slowly. Her eyes were burning with enough rage to wipe out the Amazon rainforest in a flash. I had seen her pretty angry before… But never THAT much.

Usually, I would have agreed that a little punishment served me somewhat right for just eavesdropping on what had obviously been a private talk, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was going to _kill _me now. That look on her face spelt out 'DIE' in big, bold, red, neon letters. She was twisting the end of her whip between her fingers tensely… not a good sign either.

"So… _You listened? All the time?"_

_(…Goodbye, cruel World.)_

I was about to come to terms with the fact that my life was probably about to come to a quick, yet painful end, when an intervention 'saved' me from her wrath. An intervention named 'Miles Edgeworth'.

"That's enough, Von Karma."

He grabbed her by her wrist before she could whip me. Her fist opened, her whip slipped out of her hand. She was still in slight shock, when Edgeworth told her,

"I don't think a trivial offence like this should warrant providing him with a stay in the hospital, should it? Especially when we still need this person to lead the prosecution tomorrow…"

"Ghh…!"

For a few seconds they just stood there. Edgeworth looking at Franziska, Franziska staring at Edgeworth. They were both exhausted from their discussion before, it was obvious, but Franziska was worse. She was sweating a lot already and now, she was even shaking. Finally, she freed herself from his grip.

"I… I am done here!" She loudly proclaimed before she picked up her whip and furiously stormed out of the apartment, banging the door shut behind her. The walls shook.

Once she had left, however, the apartment quickly grew quiet…

I stared at the door through which Franziska Von Karma had just left for a bit, before I let my eyes wander over to Maya, who was still knocked out and then to Edgeworth, who just stood there, looking at the door in a thoughtful way.

And so, the silence continued for a bit. Finally, I got up from the ground again,

"T-Thanks… Edgeworth," I finally said once I was standing again.

"You should not attempt to listen to people in secret that often," he replied. "You are not good at it."

"Actually, it wasn't my idea… Maya just wanted to find Franziska," I pointed at poor Maya at the floor. "We had no idea you were in there with her...How long did you know that we where there?"

"From the moment the door opened," he told me. "I happened to catch a glance of it when it did. But this was my only chance to talk directly to Von Karma. I couldn't let it pass…"

"So… the German…?"

"On purpose, in order to lock you and Maya out of the conversation. It was getting too personal," he explained to me. "There are some talks that just aren't meant for everyone's ears. "

"I am sorry…"

A sound from next to the bathroom door caught my attention.

"Uhh…"

Maya was waking up again. Dizzily, she tried to get back onto her feet. Her eyes were still half-closed.

"Ow, Ow, Ow…"

I went over and helped her get up.

"Are you alright, Maya?"

"That whip really hurts!" She moaned at me. "How come guns are banned, but she can run around with that thing? Everything that hurts should be forbidden! Like whips and needles and high heels…"

_(I'd agree with her, if I didn't know from experience that literally __**everything **__can hurt you if you just hit it hard enough…)_

"…Huh? Where did Von Karma go?"

Maya was looking around in confusion, as I tried to explain,

"She left when Edgeworth stopped her from whipping me. I don't think we're gonna see her again tonight…"

"… Hey!" Maya looked disappointed. "How come you didn't stop her from attacking _me_, Miles? We're friends too!"

She looked at him with Puppy Dog eyes and sniffled with Crocodile Tears in said Puppy Dog Eyes.

"I didn't react quickly enough. Excuse me," he just replied calmly. "I didn't expect her to lose all of her temper as suddenly as this."

"What were the two of you talking about anyway?" Maya asked in curiosity. Edgeworth just shrugged and shook his head.

"Excuse me, but that is strictly confidential. I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"Gnn…"

It was one 'disappointment' for Maya after another now. I couldn't tell whether to feel sorry for her or think that it served her right for just going around opening locked doors without permission.

The whipping, however, she really didn't deserve, of course.

Still, there were other things we had to be concerned with yet.

"And?" I turned back towards Edgeworth, "What does it look like over at that… my office?"

"Chaotic. Although, that might not entirely be the thief's fault, I think…

_(Ugh… Could they finally stop pointing that out every two seconds? )_

"In any case, a huge number of files have been taken. There is, however, a curious, common aspect among most of those stolen files."

"Huh? And what's that aspect?" Maya asked.

Edgeworth looked slightly puzzled when he said it. "Almost all of those files were actually _accessible_ to public."

My ears perked. "They weren't confidential? But… That means…"

Edgeworth nodded, "Yes. It would have been easier to just copy those files at the courtroom archive and take them home. The thief should have had no reason to break into your office to take them… And, while we are at the topic of "breaking" into the office…" His eyes narrowed. "Wright… You don't happen to be keeping your keys in an easily accessible place, like your pocket… are you?"

"Huh…? Ehm… Well, actually, yes, I _am_ keeping them in the same pocket as my cellphone. Where are you going with thi-"

And then, my eyes widened.

_(Oh no.)_

I immediately stuffed my hands into my pockets and started cramming for my keys in them. Surprise, Surprise, they weren't there. How I managed to not notice this when I had already noticed my lack of a phone prior to this was a mystery to me.

As I was still frantically turning all my pockets inside out and trying, praying that the keys would be there, I already heard Edgeworth asking me.

"I think you are searching for these, Wright." I looked up. Edgeworth was holding a bundle of keys in his hand… my bundle of keys. "You should be taking better care of something as important as this."

"Heh? Where…?"

"The thief left them at the scene of the theft," Edgeworth told me. "Alongside… this."

Edgeworth longed into his own pocket and pulled something out to show it to me. When I took a look at it, I saw that it was a card, picturing a stylized, white wing on a black ground,

"Hm? That's… A Calling Card?"

"Not exactly," Edgeworth shook his head. "Calling Cards are usually sent prior to the theft by thieves who want the thrill of avoiding to get caught. This one, however, is always left at the scene _after _the crime."

" '_Always'_… You mean, this card has been found at crime scenes before?"

"Well, this one is the first of this kind to be found in years now but, yes, the motive and culprit behind the thefts under this symbol are well known to law-enforcement. I would be surprised that you don't know about it, wouldn't it be for your current situation…"

While Edgeworth was talking, I had taken another look at the card myself,

"…Wait, I think I remember seeing that before," I finally realized. " That… was all over the newspapers a few years ago, wasn't it? Something about a 'Great Thief'..."

Edgeworth nodded. "Yes. 'The Great Thief 'Yatagarasu' to be exact. There had been a long series of file- and information-thefts under this guise seven years ago."

"I think I heard about that!" Maya said. "Quite a few companies got into trouble because the information that person leaked, right?... But, wait… I actually thought the culprit was caught…"

"Caught and executed, to be exact."

This was an unexpected correction by Edgeworth, at least for Maya's and my tastes.

She jumped. "W-WHAT? Executed…?"

"I-Isn't that a bit extreme for… thefts?" was my reaction.

"She wasn't executed for the thefts," Edgeworth explained to us, " but for a double murder she committed. She killed the Prosecutor in charge of her case, as well as the Defendant in said case."

"How horrible…" Maya's fingers were on her lips again.

Meanwhile, something came to my mind,

"But… if the original thief is dead… That would mean that this theft was committed by a copy cat, right?"

"This would seem to be the most logical explanation, yes," Edgeworth nodded. "Still, I am not sure if this is really the exact nature of this 'new' Yatagarasu… After all, there seems to be a lot more passion than professionalism behind their actions…"

Maya seemed to agree. "Yeah, I mean, if the original one was executed for what they did, one would have to be pretty brave to mimic them, right? And also, stealing those files was pretty pointless, if I got that right…"

I pondered a bit. "Hm…Either the thief did it for the thrill… Or they were uninformed and had no idea the files were easily accessible."

Yet another nod by Edgeworth. "This appears to be the case. However, the first option does not fit into the Modus Operandi of the Yatagarasu. The second, on the other hand, hints towards the culprit being inexperienced and slightly careless. Should this be the case, a few more mistakes like this could mean the end of their 'career'…"

"In that case, we should probably not worry about that thief too much, should we?" was my opinion. "I mean, they're gonna get themselves caught sooner or later anyway, acting like this."

"…"

Edgeworth looked somewhat lost in thought when I said this. I wondered what he was thinking about. Probably he knew a reason to watch out for the thief regardless.

My thoughts, however, weren't really with that theft at all at the moment. If I could go and copy the files at the courthouse anytime I wanted anyway, I didn't feel like there was a need to find the one who took them either. And the thief was 'nice' enough to return the keys as well, after all… I felt like I could just call the 'office' theft Case Closed for now and focus on other things. Like on what exactly Dylan Sengage had been doing here that time of the day and why there was another boy fighting with him.

There was just too much stuff going on right now and too little time to focus on all of it. I had to set priorities. My number one priority at the moment was Ema's murder. I was trying not to get too distracted from it anymore.

"…In any case, Wright," Edgeworth must have noticed that I was thinking about something else, since he was trying to regain my attention. "There was something else we found at the scene of the theft, except for your keys and the card."

"Hm? Something else?"

_(For a thief, they are sure leaving behind a lot of stuff…)_

Without any further words, Edgeworth just longed under his jacket and took out something. He handed it to me.

…And I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke.

It was an envelope. A _pink _envelope.

Maya, beside me, backed off when she saw it. She put her hand over her mouth. Meanwhile, I was baffled.

"W-What? But I thought you gave me tha-"

Edgeworth made a quick movement with his wrist, fanning out what he held in his hand and revealing, that is was in fact, not 'a' letter… It was _six._

I gulped.

_(What in the…?) _

"W-Where…?"

"Excuse me… But we attempted to open your safe during the investigations in order to determine if the thief laid hand on its contents… And were successful in doing so."

Edgeworth then scolded me. " '19 04 01'… Frankly, I expected you to be a _bit _less obvious with choosing something as important as a safe combination. It wouldn't have hurt to choose something I actually can't figure out on the second try."

"Huh?... 19…04…Ah!"

_(19__th__ April 2001… That's 'that' day… The day of the 'class trial'…)_

Now, what was more worrying? The fact that Edgeworth could crack my safe that easily, or the fact that the 'other Phoenix', that reportedly 'evil Phoenix', choose that day, of all possible days to choose from, as his safe combination?

_(That means… 'He' still remembers that date well. It's still important to him…?)_

However, that wasn't even the main 'problem'… My eyes were still on the letters. That was when Edgeworth handed them over to me.

"Here. As I said before, they are yours."

I saw Maya shiver next to me when Edgeworth handed me the letters and Edgeworth took notice of this. I then took a look at the envelopes myself.

"…They've all been opened…" I noticed.

"Meaning that you read them all at one point."

"…"

I didn't know what to think of this. Six… altogether now, seven pink letters in my possession. All of them signed in Maya's handwriting, all of them reading 'To Nick'. What was the meaning of this?

The dates on the envelopes differed wildly. The only thing they had in common was that they were all from within the past three years…

…The three years since I had become a lawyer. Was that a coincidence?

There they were, in my hands, and I had no idea how to act? What was I supposed to do now? Read them? Destroy them? Give them to Maya? She looked so helpless again…

_(Why were those in the safe…?) _I wondered.

I was about to open one of them, take out the letter and read it, but I hesitated. _'Make sure that only he reads it' _ she had said. No matter what Edgeworth thought, those letters weren't meant for me. Not for the 'me' of 'here'…

My head turned to the side, towards Maya, giving her a pleading look. She just turned her own head away, remained silent and bit her lip.

"…"

Finally, I just sighed. I couldn't just read them… No matter how tempting it was. Under the watchful eyes of Edgeworth, who seemed to be studying exactly what I did, I put the letters away, into my suitcase and closed it.

The moment the letters were out of sight, Maya lightened up a bit again. It was obviously the possibility that I might read them which scared her...

When I was finished, I saw that Edgeworth was taking a look at his watch, which prompted me to do the same. Almost 9:00pm…

"It's already late. I will leaving now," he looked up from his watch. "Maya, I think I will take you home. The streets are not exactly safe for someone like you this time of the day."

"W-Wait!" Maya looked at Edgeworth. "What about Nick? He can't stay here overnight, can he? We should take him along and…!"

I quickly shook my head. "Don't worry about me, Maya. I've got a room in the Gatewater Hotel. I'll be fine."

"Gatewater? That's just across the street from Miles' place!", Maya said then. "We can drive you there!"

"Actually…I wanted to stay a little longer and check on a few things," I told her. "I…I think I'll take the bus later."

But in reality, I was still wondering whether to read the letters or not. And I couldn't decide it as long as Maya was around. As long as she shivered as soon as I even looked at the envelopes, I'd not be able to concentrate on them without feeling bad for her. And yet, I had a feeling that I should read them. That it was important that I read them.

Also, if there were six of them… What if there were even more…? If there were, they would be here, in this apartment.

I had decided to wait until Maya was gone and think about the letters in peace then. Alone. That's why I couldn't drive to the hotel with Edgeworth and her.

Maya's face fell when I denied her invitation. She seemed genuinely disappointed about it. She let her head sink and sighed,

"Alright then… Oh, wait!" Her head was up again and her face lightened up, "I almost forgot something! Here!"

After some cramming in her bag, Maya handed me something with both hands. It looked like a colorful plastic card. I eyed it in confusion.

"…Huh?"

"I told you I'd solve your problem with Mr. Manella, right?" She grinned. "It's a VIP Backstage Pass! You can come and go on the set whenever you want to now!"

The movie… I had already forgotten about that again. With both hands, I took the card from her. I smiled,

"Thanks, Maya."

She just kept grinning,

"Heheh… Remember to use it whenever you have time, alright?" She winked. "I want to see you at the set at least four times a week!"

_(…A week…?)_

I looked up when I realized what Maya had just said.

"Four Times a week… Maya?"

"O-Oh!"

It was then that Maya realized what she had said, a bit startled she looked at me and tried smiling,

"S-Sorry… That won't quite work out, will it? Excuse me… I think I just forgot who you are again for a moment there… Heheh…"

The moment she said this, a Psyche Lock appeared before me. A single, lone Lock.

_(No, you didn't,) _I realized _(You knew exactly who you are talking to…)_

A cold sensation started to spread through my body, as I comprehended what she was thinking… I tried not to show that I was feeling more and more unpleasant with every passing second, but the more the realization dawned on me, the colder I felt.

She expected me to… stay here. Maya was expecting me to _stay here_.

It could just have been a "slip". Maybe she accidentally said 'Four Times a Week' and didn't remember that this wouldn't be possible, but… something told me that she had said it, because she really had _wanted _to say it. Because she really wanted it to be like this.

It looked like she was already taking for granted that I would still be here, in this place, until long after I finished working on this case on hand here.

Maybe even after they finished that movie. Maybe even forever.

Yes, maybe those words had just slipped… But this lock on her made me rather sure that this had been the kind of slip that reveals what a person is truly thinking.

Maya didn't expect me to make my way back.

Maya wanted me to stay.

* * *

_**Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils)**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. But it was partially cut before it ripped.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Maya's Letters__  
_One of them was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

_*)Misty Fey's Book  
_A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.

_*)CD  
_Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.

_*)Nylon Gloves  
_Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.

_*)Brown Tie  
_Bears the emblem of the 'Rising Sun' High School. Found stuck in the door to the Janitor's Office

_*)Maintenance Work Data  
_Check for more details.

_*)VIP Pass  
_Allows one to enter and leave the shooting scenes of the 'Steel Samurai' movie as they please.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and current Master of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

_*)?(Girl)__  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

_*)Diego Armando  
_Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

_*)Pearl Fey(?)  
_Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

_*)Trucy  
_A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

_*)Morgan Fey  
_The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.

_*)?(Boy)_  
We saw him fighting with Sengage in the Apartment Building. He seemed rather excited and hectic.

* * *

…

_I am sorry._

_Really, I am sorry this took me so long, guys. It's just… University kept me busy, I've been RPing a lot of Court Records dot net, started doing a few other things as well, am now living with my sister apart from our parents in Vienna, in order to minimize the commuting times… *sigh* I am just doing too much._

_And then, FF dot net had an error for about two days, which prevented me from posting the Chapter. I'm so sorry. T-T  
_

_I've also been playing Gyakuten Kenji 2 lately, but am not even past the 2__nd__ case yet. I do understand most of what's going on, but it's just so exhausting to read complex Japanese for longer than a few minutes for me… so I barely ever play longer than a quarter hour._

_Anyway. This chapter._

_The probably longest Chapter in the Fic yet, if I remember right. Writing the beginning dragged, because there is just no way to make something as plain as "Phoenix and Maya use Computers" seem exciting. I was stuck for weeks on that part. -_-;_

_I, however, loved writing the scene between Franziska and Edgeworth. _

_Ha Ha! It's German, so you can't understand it~! ... Or maybe, some of you can. ;-P_

_You can try to enter it in Google Translation, if you want. I'd be interested what kind of results that thing gets you. XD _

_Edgeworth mentioned being fluent in several languages in the Games, because he needs those languages to study foreign justice systems. I see no reason why Defense!Edgeworth shouldn't be thinking the same about this, which is why I made him fluent in German. Alright, he might be unrealistically fluent, given that he didn't spend half his youth in Germany, but, meh, it's Edgeworth. He's just that awesome. _

_I feel a bit bad, because I totally hyped a certain character's appearance in this chapter on the CR Back-Up Forums and made everybody think he was gonna have a big role or something and then he's there for all but 2 minutes. XD_

_I just realized a disturbing trend with my writing lately:_

_Maya types with four fingers, because that's how I type. Phoenix doesn't have Facebook because I don't have Facebook. _

_Bottom Line: I'm putting too much of myself into this thing… Meh…_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope I'll be able to bring you the next one significantly sooner. ^^;_

_Over and out. _


	23. The Boy with the Bracelet

**May 2nd, 8:30pm**

**Apartment Building**

Quiet…

It was so quiet when Maya wasn't around. It felt like nothing around me was moving at all, making me feel a bit uneasy about moving myself. This apartment was much too big and my steps were just too harsh in contrast to that silence. There was something about this silence that was spooky… downright unsettling.

I knew that it wasn't the fault of this apartment, but rather, my own. It was _me _who wanted a bit of noise. To be exact, I wanted a specific kind of noise.

I had no idea why I felt like this lately, but there was no denying: Maya was the cause.

The question was: Which Maya? The one of 'Here'? Or the one of 'My World'?

I sat there on the couch, staring at the table before me. The seven pink letters were lying there, lined up neatly, in a row. I didn't dare to touch them, even now. A sigh was all I got from trying to raise my hand and take one. Maya's 'secret'… What was it?

Did I even want to know? What if it had to do with 'my secret'? The secret that I was hiding behind those white locks… Something inside me obviously didn't want to remember it. Maybe it would be for the better if I didn't?

'Maya's secret' and 'My secret'... Were they connected in any way?

I kept staring at the envelopes before me. There were so many mysteries to solve… Too many…

I could have taken the first step to get rid of them now. All I needed to do was take one of those envelopes… and read the letters inside. Maya's 'secret' would have been much easier to unravel then. But, on the other hand, there were Maya's despaired eyes… the helpless look on her face when Edgeworth threatened her to open and read the letter.

"_It's alright…But please make sure that nobody but him reads it."_

Nobody but 'him'… There was only one person who was supposed to read those letters. And that person wasn't me, despite all similarities. I wasn't supposed to read them. And I didn't want to give Maya a reason to think again about not bludgeoning me to death with that baseball bat of hers.

"… It's no use." I finally said to myself, "Read the letters and betray Maya's trust… Don't read them and stay stuck without the information… I just can't decide that!"

_(Why won't life just give me a break?)_

I finally let my head fall into my hands and one more sigh escaped me. Silence. Too much silence. I needed some noise now. Badly. Something aside from my own voice. Preferably…

I looked up when something came to my mind. Soon after this, I had my hands on my suitcase and opened it to take something out.

Maya's CD…

The few memories of Maya's singing from the concert the day before came back to me. I remembered how clear and strong her voice had been up there on the stage. It was still hard to believe for me that Maya, our Maya, was actually capable of this. A weird feeling, to suddenly be aware that a friend I had known for so long now had a hidden talent all this time… Like Larry turning out to be the next Picasso. Or Edgeworth turning out to be talented enough at Tennis to beat an actual Sportsman. Or me being a Pro at Gambling, just for the heck of it.

_(She wanted me to listen to this… didn't she?)_

My eyes were at the cover, that picture of Maya releasing the white dove into the sky. Only now I made out some details on the picture. Like the feathers the Dove was spreading turning into something resembling sparkles – it was hard to tell – as they fell down. Or a white silk-banner in the background, reading…

'_You only lose when you give up.'_

"…"

I kept looking at it for a short while.

_(Well… Might as well put it in now, right? This place has a CD Player, after all.)_

Finally letting my eyes off the CD cover, I stood up from the sofa, approached the huge, stereo-like machine close by, opened the CD's Box and inserted the Disk.

'Dolby. It makes you feel like you were in the middle of the music,' Maya had claimed. Now, I was about to find out how much of this was true. I put in the CD and pressed 'Play'.

I wasn't disappointed. From the first accord on, the sound was crystal clear and surprisingly similar to that of the concert the day before – except on an acceptable volume. 'I' thankfully hadn't put the switch all the way up on Maximum level when 'I' last listened to music on this thing, so I was spared having my eardrums kicked out of my head once again.

The Intro was comparably short… only one or two accords. I can't tell. I have never been that good with music. And then, Maya's singing started.

"_The stars have faded and from the crimson clouds above me rain falls._

_Merciless, painting my name, Red on White."_

_(Her voice sounds even cleaner on the recording than it did yesterday on the concert…), _I noticed _(Seems like they could really do a lot in whatever kind of remixing studio they use to finish off those Songs…)_

That didn't change anything about the fact that the lyrics were, similarly to Maya's work on that Steel Samurai movie, pretty pseudo-poetic. But it was Pop. I guess I could forgive it. I kept listening.

"_The thousand rays of the sun have been extinguished like a candle,_

_Casting the shadows of doubt on my Heart._

_I want escape, but I have been chained to the ground,_

_Want to scream, but my voice makes no sound,_

_This world is like a desert with no Horizon,_

_And I can't find a way to turn around…"_

"…"

Maya put an incredible amount of emotion into this song. Re-Mastering or not, I couldn't help but feel like there was something different in her voice when she sang this song. Like there was more… 'Sincerity' behind what she sang. And passion.

And actually… that wasn't the only weird thing about that song. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but as I listened to the song, I got a kind of… feeling of familiarity. As if I had heard the lyrics before, at least in parts. In any case, this song seemed to be different from the ones I heard at the concert the day before.

My suspicions finally reached their peak, when the song's bridge was about to end.

"…_Just now I realize how brave we two have truly been,_

_I have become a woman, who can walk even through flames,_

_and you're the bird of dragonfire, who led me all this way…"_

"…!"

I looked up.

_(This line… Bird of Dragonfire…? W-Wait!)_

* * *

_"I guess they're blaming you for the fact that she stopped performing that one song."_

_"…That one song…? "_

_"In the guise of 'MAYOI', Maya Fey has a lot of popular songs, but the one she's most famous for is certainly '180°C'."_

…

_"You see Wright… The girl in the song is being led by something… A 'bird of dragon fire'."_

_"A bird of… dragon… fire… Ah…!"_

_(I get it… the 'bird of fire'. That song is referring to the…)_

_"You see now why she doesn't want to hear or sing it right now?"_

_"She actually prevents the song from being played because of this? B-But it's just my name!"_

* * *

_(…It's the song… THAT song…)_

Even though there was no doubt about this now, that I had heard the lyrics, I still took a look at the back of the CD cover, just to be sure.

There it read, without doubt:

_#1 - 180°C ~ Revive-Rebirth Mix_

"…"

I looked at the title for a while.

_(So that's it,) _I thought to myself. _(The song that got me the slingshot-treatment yesterday afternoon…)_

My neck hurt even from just remembering it.

_(Now that I actually listen to it… It's true. What this Prosecutor… Singer… whatever… told Maya yesterday at the concert. It's just one line. Not even a very important one. One you could easily switch out. So why does she refuse to sing the whole song…?) _I rubbed my chin a bit as I pondered. _(Could there be another reason…? I mean, the lyrics are cryptic enough, there could be something else hidden in there… Something they just don't know about… That or I'm finally turning paranoid now.)_

I sighed as the song neared its end. So, that was the song that had earned me the few hits with the slingshots I had taken yesterday. This rather powerful, emotional song…

Before the next title could even start up, I went back to the CD player and made it eject the disk. I had decided that I had heard enough. All I had wanted was some kind of sound to break the silence while I decided whether to look at those letters or not. But now, this song had made the decision even harder. From second to second it became more and more painfully obvious that Maya had something to hide. Something that might or might not have had something to do with me and my current situation. The feeling of familiarity that had overcome me while listening to the song was particularly worrying.

So, what was I supposed to do…?

"…"

I was, once again, back to staring at the seven letters. Just staring at them. Before, I had wondered if I should search the Apartment for even more of those, but now, I didn't even dare that anymore.

Seven letters. Each written by Maya. Each filled with content that she didn't want anybody to read. Each filled with content that could have been of use for me right now… so much use…

Finally… I stretched my hand out for the envelopes.

_(Just one of them…)_ I told myself. _(I'm taking a quick look at JUST one… Nothing more…)_

With that thought, I picked up a random envelope out of the seven on the table. I led my Finger inside, opened it up and took out the letter inside. Still somewhat nervous, I slowly unfolded it:

_Hi!_

_How've you been lately? Oh, and thanks for what you sent with the last letter! _

_I knew I could count on you when I said I felt like Chocolate lately~!_

_Don't worry. I've been a bit down before, because of some bad sleep I got, but now I'm fine. The recordings are going well… I think we might just get the album out before Christmas! Well, I've had lots of inspiration after all…_

_That reminds me, have you ever wondered about Teddy Bears? I mean, they look cute and all, but somehow they're also a bit creepy. I mean, it's a bear! A bear, Nick! Bears eat meat!_

_Maybe I'm just over-thinking things, but they've been really creeping me out lately, you know…_

_About the hair-thing, uhm, I'm not really sure, but did you try to ask that other girl before? You know, my sister's friend's little sister. (I kinda forgot her name…) I thought she might know about that, I mean, after all you keep saying she's interested in that stuff! _

_So, how've you been doing lately? Everything fine? Oh, and how's work? You barely ever talk about that… I'm interested! Got any cool cases? I want to know everything!_

_I hope I read from you soon, Nick~! You're the best Pen Pal ever!_

_Maya. :-)_

And that was how the letter ended.

For a few minutes, I just kept… looking at it. Let my eyes wander up and down alongside the paper, wondering if I didn't miss something and tried to make me absolutely aware of the letter's content as I did. It changed nothing about the revelation, however. And once again I was wondering why life enjoyed making fun of me so much.

"…Pen… Pals?" I slowly asked myself "That's it? That's what those letters are? They are… were… _Pen Pals?"_

I felt how my hand wander up to my forehead all by itself and slap it. Pen Pals. I had been worrying for hours and hours and _hours _about opening letters from a _Pen Friendship _between Maya Fey and 'me'. And the worst thing about this was that things, amazingly, now somehow made even _less_ sense than they did before.

_(This… This is what Maya was trying to hide so badly? I don't get it! And… more importantly… why?) _I tapped my own chin. _(Edgeworth said Maya and 'me' apparently hadn't had much contact before the trial of her sister… But now, those letters show up. How did they come to know each other, without anybody knowing? And why did they start writing letters? Couldn't they just have visited each other? I mean, even if she spent much time in Kurain, it's just two hours away…Hm… From Maya's reaction, it seems like the two of them were keeping this whole friendship secret…)_

Something in my mind, which had already slowly started to move, back when Maya and I had our encounter at the river, was now shifting even more noticeably. The whole story about 'me'- the 'Phoenix Wright' who was supposed to be here- was off. Something about it was just incorrect. A giant contradiction had to be hiding in this story, of which I still had not as much information as I should have had. And the more I figured out about this current case, the more I started to suspect that said contradiction played an important role in its solution and that I wouldn't get around discovering what exactly it was.

_(If Maya and him were friends at one point,) _I summed up my discovery to myself. _(He couldn't have been a completely heartless monster, like she claimed earlier… Which casts a whole new light on Edgeworth's and Iris' behaviors towards me. And Maya's, especially.)_

I nervously played with the letter in my hand, while keeping my eyes on it and reading certain passages again and again.

_(Still… Mia mentioned that 'I' had a perfect record… and no Prosecutor ends up only getting cases with truly guilty Defendants. Our system is too hasty for that. They barely ever investigate longer than half a day before pressing charges. Plus, he got the Life Sentence for Mia and Dahlia. This is a fact. …Mia's not a murderer. If this other Phoenix Wright is really just one bit like me, he wouldn't have done that… Something is wrong here. And I'll have to find out what it is.)_

I carefully folded the letter again and put it back into the sugary pink envelope it came from, closing it carefully. I had broken my promise to Maya and looked at it. A certain sensation of guilt gnawed on my nerves, but I knew that it had been the right thing to do in the end. It helped me take a step in the right direction… And an idea about where exactly this direction would lead me was starting to form in my head. All that was left to do now was to gather more information on Ema's murderer…

This was easier said than done. Mostly because Franziska, Maya, Edgeworth, Gumshoe and, to an extent, also me, had already 'cleaned up' neatly all over the Apartment. I really did the best I could do to maybe find a bit more overlooked evidence. In the end, I wound up finding nothing new. Opening a few drawers, I found more and more pink envelopes spread all over the place, but that wasn't really shocking me, seeing how I now knew exactly what they were and why they were there. And since there was also no use in breaking my promise to that poor girl again, I just left them where they were. Even though I had still no idea why it was so important to Maya to keep this harmless relationship secret, I wanted to respect her wish as far as it was still possible. Except for those letters, I found nothing that caught my eye even in the least. This crime scene apparently held no more undiscovered secrets, at least none I could have found right here right now. After a search of about twenty minutes, I finally gave up and frowned. I had found out more about Maya, Edgeworth and Franziska today than about Ema and her killer. And something told me that this wouldn't change if I searched any longer. I finally packed my suitcase.

I took Maya's CD with me, as well as the six letters which I had already had on me when Edgeworth and Maya left.

I was just thinking about how convenient it was that those doors' locks closed automatically when you shut them, when it came to me:

_(…Argh! The door to the janitor's office!) _

Only now it really came to me: When Maya and I had seen the fight on the third floor, we left the room so hastily that we forgot to close the door behind us. Most likely, it was still down there, open…

_(…I'd better go and close it,) _I decided. _(Don't want to get into trouble for leaving it open like that…)_

And with that, I boarded the elevator and headed for the first floor.

* * *

Once again: It's a good thing that the Janitor's Office was signposted. It didn't take me too long to find the room, which was completely open. The tie Maya had found came back to my mind, even if just for a moment, when I took the door handle and closed the office. It having been stuck there had just been a little too convenient… Could there have been a reason for it? But, maybe, I was really just being paranoid now.

I was just on my way out of the building, so I could take the bus to the Gatewater Hotel, when something caught my attention. I stopped in my tracks. Voices from not too far away reached my ears and I could make out an actual sentence,

"_That girl… I just don't think you should see her anymore!"_

I listened up.

"Hm?" _(That came from the door over there…)_

Said door led to the backyard. I only knew this because of the big lettered sign which said so. While I was still wondering if I should go and see what was going on there, I heard more words from out there.

"_Hey! That's none of your business!"_

"_I'm telling you that for your own sake, really! If you continue dating her, it's going to be bad news!"_

"_Y-You're lying!"_

And that moment… a cold sensation went down from my head through my whole body, making me shiver.

_(This… is starting to sound… uncomfortably much like…)_

That couldn't be. For a moment, I was wondering if my ears were playing tricks on me. In any case, I was having a serious case of Déjà vu there.

"_Listen to me! There's something I need to tell you! You know about that incident that happened here yesterday, right? Well, yesterday morning I saw how that girl followed that one woman, all the way, down to that huge building and…"_

"_W-Wait! Were you spying on her?"_

This was getting too much. It felt exactly like the events of this one day, a day I couldn't just banish from my mind, no matter how much I sometimes wished I could, were replaying from that opened door. Except that those weren't _our_ voices.

_(*gulp* Does that mean… They're not going to…?)_

Maybe I was being paranoid again. But better paranoid than having to take care of two murder cases in the same building within the span of two days. Not wasting any more time, I rushed towards the door, as the conversation behind it continued:

"_When she came back she was carrying that woman's handbag, I swear! She stole that from her! And now, that woman is on trial…She's playing some role in that murder! That woman… She's trying to frame her!"_

"_STOP IT! You're mean! Don't… Don't talk about my Lily like that!"_

Just the moment I wanted to put my hand on the door handle and rip the door it belonged to open, a loud sound, like something crashing into a wall, followed by an all too familiar, loud gasp of pain made me jerk and stop for a moment. When I wanted to finally grab the handle after this, I didn't need to anymore: The door was suddenly being smashed open. I could just barely jump out of the way, before the door was flung open and a person crashed into the wall right from it. A person stormed out so quickly I wondered if he even noticed that I was there. Though, I had time to recognize who it was:

Dylan Sengage. For the third time this day. And his face was reflecting the lights of the corridors in a way that made me certain that he'd been crying just a moment ago.

"H-Hey, you! Wait!"

I tried to get a hold of the boy, but he took not the slightest bit of notice of me and just continued rushing down the corridor. I was about to follow him when I remembered: He hadn't been alone in there. And from the sounds I had heard from inside, the other person was now…

My priorities shifted quickly when that sense of Déjà vu overcame me again, and I quickly turned towards the open door again, rushing out into the yard.

"Hello?" I called out as soon as I had taken my first step outside, "Is anyone there?"

"Ungh… Ouch…"

Loud groaning. Feeling a bit relieved, I turned the direction I heard it coming form. Why was I relieved? Well, groaning meant that whoever was groaning was probably conscious, after all.

When I turned around, there was a boy lying on the floor, leaning against the wall with part of his upper body. It looked like he had just been smashed into this wall which- judged by what I had heard, was probably exactly what had happened. But he was conscious, seemed to be relatively fine and there were no electric cables around. My relief doubled. I took quick steps towards the boy.

"Hey, are you OK? Can I help you?"

I offered the teenager my hand, just to recognize that it was the boy who Maya and me had earlier encountered in the hallway. Apparently, he had pursued his search for Sengage the whole evening and found him – just to be put into this state. For some reason I felt guilty and even a little stupid just by looking at him lying there like this, even though I was completely aware that this hadn't anything to do with me… Not _this time_ anyway.

The boy, meanwhile, tried to get up, rubbing the back of his head, which had probably crashed rather uncomfortably into the solid bricks behind him. It took him a few moments till he opened his eyes, half-heartedly looked at me and tried to get up again:

"N-No… I'm _fine_, Sir! Excuse me!

Declining the hand I had offered him, the boy tried to get back on his feet, way too suddenly and way too hectically. The result was that he immediately lost his balance again and fell.

"WOAH! Ungh…

The fall had been face forward. The boy raised his head and coughed out dust. He broke out into cold sweat, probably out of shame. I saw him taking a quick glance at me before he, yet again, attempted to get up, but was taking it a little slower this time. It was now that the _true _problem showed.

"…ACK!...Ungh…!"

As soon as the boy tried to put his right foot down and walk away, the leg immediately sprung up again and he ended up on the floor once more, except that now it was a bit less like awkward falling and a bit more like voluntary sitting down. Barely having arrived back on the safe ground, the boy proceeded to hastily take off his right shoe and roll up the right leg of his pants. I kneeled down beside him when he did so, having a suspicion what he was going to find there. The suspicion turned out to be true.

"Looks like it was sprained…", I said, eyeing the boy's ankle a bit worriedly.

"Argh!" The boy looked at his newly discovered wound in disdain for a few seconds, before he breathed in a suspiciously powerful manner. I should have been smart enough to cover my ears now. I wasn't.

"_Dammit, DYLAN!"_

I shrunk away.

_(My eardrums! My poor eardrums!)_

If there was anything the boy wasn't lacking, it was volume. I wondered how long it would take 'til this would take a toll on his voice…

"Alright, that's it, this time I'm going to the caretakers with thi—"

"Hold it! You're going nowhere right now!"

I quickly stopped the boy when I saw him starting yet another attempt to stand up.

"We need to get you to the hospital-"

The boy hastily interrupted me, pushing my arm away,

"No! Sir, I _have _to catch up with that guy who just left! That, or he'll do something stupid!"

"And if I let you just get up and leave now, _you'd_ be doing something stupid," I told him trying to cool his boiling temper. "Alright, first things first…"

I tried to get out my cellphone, just to remember that I didn't have it on me, so I let it be and reached for change instead. There had to be a public telephone nearby.

"Could you tell me your parents' phone number? We need to inform them of this first."

"…"

The boy looked a bit intimidated when I said this. Instead of snapping at me with a quick answer like before, he gnawed his lip a bit, and then turned his head to the side. A somewhat uncomfortable expression appeared on his face,

"I'd… rather not tell anyone I'm out here…" He whispered in a surprisingly meek voice. "I'm… not actually supposed to… that time… you know…"

"…" I looked at him skeptically. "…You snuck out?"

"…Ehe…"

That nervous laughter of shame was just all too familiar to me. I decided to ask no further questions, but sigh. Knowing that he would be forced to tell his parents sooner or later anyway, I decided that it was for the best to make sure that his sprain was treated quickly, so I put my suitcase down next to the boy and opened it, taking out a few items. This was the kind of injury I had to deal with regularly, due to my unique brand of 'luck', so I was prepared for it. The boy looked a bit surprised as he watched me pulling some bandages and cooling paste out of my suitcase, but apparently he decided it would be better not to question it, since he didn't say anything.

"So… You're a High School Student, aren't you?" I asked him while taking care of his sprain. "What were you doing out here, all alone? You don't live here, do you?"

"…"

The boy turned his head away, seeming uncomfortable with having been asked that. Finally, he mumbled under his breath,

"Ungh… It's all _his_ fault… Oh, just wait 'til I tell the caretakers about this. I've been shut up for long enough now…"

"Caretakers…?" How he used this word here brought up a few more questions for me, but I decided to start with one that wasn't entirely related to it, "By '_him_'… You mean that boy who just ran out, don't you? The one you chased through the whole building?"

"…"

There was something about those suspicious pauses in the boy's speech. They made me feel like, in the boy's head, he was very much adding some lines here. Just that he didn't feel like sharing those lines with me. Of course, I was not the one to talk – Inner Monologue, my life- and reputation-saver – but why did I have the feeling that _his _Inner Monologue would make me feel very, very offended if I could hear it?

I had finished wrapping the bandages now, but the boy hadn't answered my question yet, so I decided to leave it be for now. I got up from the floor, "First of all, we need to get you home now. Here, I'll help you walk."

I offered the boy my hand and helped him get up. He accepted, although not without some slight reluctance. Apparently, the thought of needing help to walk was not something he really enjoyed.

"Hm… There's a bus stop right in front of this building… I'll bring you to the next hospital, if you're alright with that."

"N-No… It's not that bad, Sir, seriously," he quickly shook his head, "I live just three bus stops from here. I think I'll just go home."

"…Fine, but I'll still come along and bring you home, if you don't mind." I told him. "It's gotten rather late. I'm not really comfortable with the thought of sending a kid off alone at this hour—"

I shouldn't have said that. The next thing I knew, the boy was snapping at me once again.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" He said and crossed his arms. "I'm fifteen! Next year, I'll be old enough to drive!"

_(That doesn't mean that you'll actually do it, kid. I mean, just look at me…)_

"Look, I just want to help you."

"I know, I know…"

I knew that the boy was uncomfortable with the idea of me accompanying him on his way home, but there wasn't really much of a choice. No matter how many times he would claim to be 'fine', the sprain wouldn't just disappear. Leaving him alone like that would have been irresponsible. Thankfully, I didn't have to argue with him much longer.

The boy, still looking at me, sighed. Then he slowly nodded, "Alright, Sir… Thanks for your help."

"Don't mention it. Let's just go."

* * *

It was an uneventful trip to the bus-stop we had and an even less eventful wait for the bus itself. Mostly because the boy didn't talk to me a whole lot. No wonder; I was a stranger to him after all. Just trusting me like that would have been a little naïve. Still, I wanted to help him, which was the reason I stayed with him and also helped him getting on the bus. Then I sat down beside him. He just remained silent. His wariness of me was actually quite unsettling, even though I knew that it was a very normal reaction. I guess what made me feel uneasy were the boy's eyes. He had rather unusually big, expressional eyes, which had a certain "piercing" quality to them. And he kept them on me all the time… even though he was trying his best to disguise the fact that he was watching me, as if he felt that I could leap at and strangle him any moment.

Even though it was only three bus stops, the stops were still fairly far apart of each other, meaning that the boy and I would spend another fifteen minutes like this, side by side in icy silence, if it went on like this. I had to break this silence somehow.

_(Alright, Phoenix. Say something. Something, just a little bit of small talk…)_

"Uhm… Nice… Bracelet?"

This was the first thing I could come up with, for some reason. It was probably because my eyes had been stuck on the golden ring around the boy's left wrist for a while now, mostly thanks to the fact that he kept fiddling with it nervously, again and again.

_(Actually, seeing a boy like him wearing something like this is kinda odd. This is more like the kind of jewelry I would expect Maya to wear.)_

The boy just kept his head turned away.

"Yeah… thanks," he replied in a not very thankful manner.

"Where did you get this?"

"Can't remember."

"O-Oh…"

And with that… we were back to awkward silence. Wonderful. I had to find a way to keep the conversation up, before the air between us would finish freezing…

"So… Would you tell me your name?"

"…"

The boy immediately turned his head away when he heard this question. He stayed mute for a moment, making me wonder if he was going to reply.

"…'Pollo…", I finally heard him quietly mumbling under his breath, his head still turned towards the window.

"Hm? What did you say?"

Another short pause followed. It was like the boy wasn't sure if giving me any information about him would be a good idea at all.

"…Apollo."

He finally turned his head towards me again, but not without hesitating, "My name's… Apollo."

"Apollo?" I looked at the boy. Probably puzzled, "That's an…unusual name."

At the very last second, I managed to stop myself from saying the word 'weird'. But the pause gave away what I was really going to say and the boy was bright enough to understand what that meant. He frowned, before returning the question in a slightly unmotivated manner,

"And your name …Sir?"

"I'm Phoenix Wright."

The moment I said that, the boy – Apollo – looked straight at me, and his face had a clear, unmistakable expression on it. It read 'You Hypocrite'. I needed a few seconds to figure out why that was. When it hit me, I felt a bit like slapping myself.

"Phoenix… Wright, huh?" I heard Apollo whisper. He sounded like he was not too sure if I was being serious or just messing with him. I proceeded to quickly think up a response that had a chance of breaking the two meters thick wall of ice the boy had now built up against me.

"Ehe… Yes, that's… Absolutely 'Wright', I guess? Haha…"

"…Not funny."

His blunt comment hit like hail. I stopped laughing, as one more icy blow of wind seemed to sweep over the boy and me. Not much of a loss. My laughter had been forced anyway. The sinking temperature of the atmosphere around the two of us, however, worried me.

_(…This is one of those days my mouth just doesn't want to do what my brain tells it to, is it?)_

As I mentally wished for something to tape my mouth with, the icy silence around us got supporting company from a freezing cold stare, which the boy threw at me. It wasn't an intimidating stare, which was largely thanks to the fact that the boy looked just too much like the kind of kid to regularly get into and loose schoolyard brawls to be intimidating in any way, but if there was one thing it made me know, it was that Apollo was convinced now that I wasn't taking him seriously, which was pretty much the exact opposite of what I had been trying to achieve. Unsure what to say, I kept silent, until Apollo finally spoke.

"Yeah," the boy started pushing himself off his seat, "If you don't mind, Sir, I'll be over there, on the other side of the bus then…"

"Yes… Wait, no, no!" I tried to somehow place myself in a way that would hinder the boy from just leaving like this. "I do mind! ...Eh, I mean… Don't you want to stay here? It's only two more bus stops, changing seats now isn't really necessary, so…"

"It's about Dylan, isn't it?"

Apollo turned around, towards me again. He crossed his arms and sat up straight on his seat, as I looked at him. I was more than just a bit surprised,

"How did you…?"

"You were interested in why I was chasing him before as well, weren't you? And why else would you come along on this bus ride with me?" The boy crossed his arms. "People don't just… do that for no reason..."

A short pause followed as Apollo, yet again, turned his head away. I don't know if he was expecting me to just go on and question him about Sengage now. But, in any case, that's not what I did. Because I just couldn't ignore the tone with which he had said that last sentence.

"…I would have done that even if I didn't need any information about Sengage," I told him calmly.

"Oh really?" There was disbelief in his voice. "Why?"

"Because you needed help."

"It's just a sprain…"

"It's still a problem. Leaving you alone with that wouldn't be a very nice thing to do, would it?"

"Why do you even care?"

Apollo suddenly turned his head back in my direction. "I'm fine! I tried to do something, I couldn't manage, I screwed up, end of story! Now leave me alone, Sir…"

"You were trying to help that other boy, weren't you?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat when he heard my question. His arms still crossed, he tried not to look at me. I let him be, understanding that he was already rather upset about what happened. The last thing he needed was a stranger questioning him like a criminal. However, in the end... no further pressing was needed anyway.

"I was… just trying to figure out where he was going every day. That's all," Apollo finally told me, still without looking me in the eyes. "… I should have known that it's got to do with that girl again… Argh…Dylan…"

"Dylan Sengage…," I said, more to myself than in reply to him. I focused on the boy again, "And by girl… You mean…"

I crammed out the court record and skimmed through the witness profiles, 'til I found the one I needed.

"…this one?" I showed Lilie Heatherd's photo to the boy.

At first, he only took a quick peek at the photo. Once he had done that, however, his head and attention immediately rose.

"Wha— That's her!" He exclaimed in surprise, "The girl he's dating…Where do you know her from?"

"She's a Key Witness in a case I am working on right now. I'm… a lawyer."

As I explained this, I could see how the boy's hands balled to fists. His eyebrows pulled down as well. Also, his voice was back to being loud and penetrating, like it had been before.

"Key Witness… I knew it! I knew she had something to do with that!

For a moment, it looked like the boy was about to try and jump up again, but, knowing that this wouldn't be exactly of advantage for his hurt foot, I quickly put my hand on his shoulder to keep him from doing so. So, he just continued ranting at me, finally looking me in the face,

"I told him! All along, I said '_I've got a bad feeling about this girl_', but would he listen to me? No! 'Cause nobody ever listens to me! And now, look at that! She's involved in that murder case here after all! I knew it! I knew it all along!"

"I said _'Key Witness' _not _'Prime Suspect'_," I told the boy in an attempt to calm him down, even though I could very much relate to his opinion that Heatherd's role in this case was more than that of just an observer. "And I doubt your friend doesn't know about that. He visited her in the Courthouse today."

As soon as I said this, the boy crossed his arms again and looked away from me.

"He's not my friend," I heard him mumble. "He's… just my roommate…"

"Roommate?"

Before I could ask any more questions about this, the boy already had his eyes back at me, snapping.

"But _someone_ just needs to keep him away from that girl! I know she's going to make him do something he's gonna regret, I… I just feel stuff like that!"

I listened up when I heard this.

"You _'feel it'_?"

"People who aren't honest!" He told me with a slight nod. "That kind of people just makes me feel all… all…

He was apparently trying to find words to describe something he couldn't really explain. So he ended up waving his hands around wildly he finally resumed talking,

"…It's just… a kind of 'tightening' feeling… I get all wound up and…and," he paused for a moment. "Look, I just know that she's hiding something from him! That girl's gonna end up getting him into huge trouble! I just know it!"

"Alright, alright, I believe you!" I quickly told him, before he could get any louder. My ears were already taking damage. That was something _I _'just knew'. "So… What were the two of you doing in that Apartment building? If I remember right, that incident just now wasn't the first time the two of you fought there today. "

"I'm not really sure myself," Apollo answered. "But he didn't show up in school today again, so I wondered where he went… Then I remembered that this incident happened and… yeah."

"You suspected it had something to do with it and came there to search for him?"

He nodded, "Yeah. And now, it looks like that girl – the one he's seeing – was living there too."

"So he was down there to visit her?"

"I don't think so… I saw him ring the bell on one of the doors, but nobody opened up, so I guess she wasn't at home."

"Which means that he wasn't invited by her… Could it be that he had another reason to come to the Apartment Building then, maybe? Do you have any idea?"

When I said that, Apollo lowered his head,

"…"

And then something that occurred a lot more often lately than I wanted it to happened. With a loud locking sound, I saw how the chains closed around the boy before me and were sealed with a single, red Psyche Lock.

"H-How should I know…Heh…?"

He was raising his head again… But looked notably flustered. Even if it hadn't been for that Psyche Lock, I would have known that he was hiding something right away. Three years of experience were enough to recognize a bad liar when I see one. He also started to scratch his head nervously. Another dead giveaway.

"I met him when he was about to leave," He tried to explain to me. "I confronted him in the hallway and that's how we got into the squabble. That's all that happened, seriously. Nothing else…"

"I see…"

_(Yes. I see that you're trying to hide something you know from me, that is. But it's only one lock, right? This should be easy to break. Well, then…)_

"So, let me sum up… You had a bad feeling about your friend's girlfriend and decided to follow him to make sure he was going to be alright, and this is how you ended up fighting him in the hallway, correct?"

"He's not my friend!" Apollo's nervousness suddenly flipped over into anger, as he repeated to me what he has told me before, but with more emphasis. "Or does that look like something a friend would do to you?"

He proceeded to point at his foot.

"So?" I asked. "If he's not your friend, why are you so worried about him going out with this girl then?"

"Because she's going to get him into trouble, that's why!"

"And why do _you_ care?"

"…"

Apollo fell silent after this. He seemed to be out of arguments. Sweating a bit again, he looked at the floor. I smirked. Now it was my turn to wear a 'You Hypocrite' face.

"I… " the boy apparently finally found words again. "I just think helping him is the right thing to do… That's all."

"'_The right thing to do'_… I see…"

And somehow… this made me smile even more. This kinda of idealism was something you didn't see in a lot of kids these days, after all. Tilting my head a bit into his direction, and feeling more relaxed than I did before – apparently, I managed to melt a good amount of the 'ice of awkwardness' already – I asked him.

"You think that helping people is something important then?"

"I just see people who didn't do anything get into trouble way too often," Apollo explained to me, his fists on his lap. "Something happens, there's some stupid coincidence and someone makes a dumb mistake and gets blamed, then nobody listens to them and the one who really did it just gets away like this. That happens all the time at my school… I think that's just not right, that's all."

"…"

I closed my eyes. Hearing the boy say this, I couldn't help but remember something once again… The images of the moved tables in the classroom and my shouting, booing classmates appeared before me for just a moment.

"…You are right," I finally replied with a nod. "Things like this do happen too often."

"Yeah…" Apollo beside me sighed. "It makes me so angry every time I see it. I really wish I could just stand up and take care of the mess, but… It's not like I could do too much about it, is it? Nobody would be listening to me if I said something…"

"Hm…" I leaned back in my seat a bit. "So, you don't think you could make a difference?"

"It would be awesome if I could," I heard Apollo sigh once more. "I mean, just imagine that! Being able to actually change something, actually help someone… And then, getting the praise. People looking at you and saying "Thank you! You were great! I'll never forget that."… That's got to be an awesome feeling, I'm sure!"

"And, do you have anything specific in mind, when you say this? Like… something you want to do once you finished your education?"

"…"

My curiosity regarding the boy had now reached its peak. There was something about him, a kind of enthusiasm that just gave me the feeling that this teenager had a lot of… potential. So there was a specific answer I was hoping for… Though, I wasn't surprised when I didn't get this answer.

"I don't really know, to be honest." He said. "What to do with my life once I'm out of school, I mean… My grades are good, sure and there's tons of stuff I could do, but…"

I watched him as he, obviously also a lot more relaxed than before now, leaned back in his seat and started fiddling with the bracelet on his left wrist again,

"Somehow I just haven't found anything that I think 'fits' me… Something I could do and think 'This is just me! This is what I was born to do, here I come!', you know?" He sat up straight again. "I don't want to just study some fancy subject and get some random job, just to get through life, I want to feel that I am doing '_The'_ job! I want to get a bit of… a 'kick' out of it, I guess."

"Yeah, I think I understand what you mean," I told him with a nod. "Finding the right path can be hard."

A nod from Apollo's side.

"It sure is…"

"But…" I smiled at the boy. "I can tell you: In the end it is all the more satisfying once you get there."

And then, all of a sudden, Apollo looked at me. And not just in some casual way. He looked at me, like I had just said the wisest thing in the entire world. I wasn't too sure why that was though. I had just said what I had on my mind. It felt a bit embarrassing to have someone looking at me with those eyes. This was the kind of look wise, old men who had seen everything there was to see already tended to get. But I was just young myself. A 26-year-old lawyer who just barely learned to stand on his own two feet. This look felt like something I didn't really deserve. And that's why it gave me a feeling of awkwardness… no matter how sincere the boy actually meant it to be.

An announcement finally brought our conversation to a sudden end.

"_Letonova Boulevard. Sunview Orphanage. Connections available to lines-"_

I listened up,

_(The… Orphanage…?)_

"This is my stop…" Apollo told me and I saw how he tried to get up from his seat, so he could get out. "Well… It was nice talking to you, Mr. Wright. And thanks for the bandages…"

"Wait, I'll help you get out…"

Of course, this was a cheap excuse to leave the bus alongside the boy. I still had some questions for him, after all. Also, I knew enough about this Apollo by now to know that he would have rather taken those last few steps home by himself. However, for some reason, he didn't object when I helped him leaving the vehicle. The bus' door closed behind us as we found ourselves at a bus station before a rather huge building. _'Sunview Orphanage' _it read on the front…

"So… There we are." Apollo turned towards the building and was about to walk off, "Again, thanks for helping me out, Mr. Wright."

My eyes wandered from Apollo to the building behind him and back to the boy again,

"So… you are…"

When I said this, Apollo laughed a bit, "Well, why else did you think I didn't want you to call my parents? Also, I told you that I'm sharing a room with Dylan. You know that Rising Sun High isn't a Boarding School, don't you?"

He pointed at his own Uniform.

I just looked at him for a few seconds, silently.

"…So, your parents…?"

"Never even met them."

"I- I understand…" I looked away, "I'm sorry…"

Apollo, however, just shook his head,

"Hey, Hey, it's not that bad, really! It's always been like that for me, I'm used to it. It's not like the movies always make it look at all, I swear. The meals are good, I've got a computer in my room and I'm getting a fine allowance, too! Nothing to worry about, seriously."

"…How old are you again?"

"Oh, me? I think I said that before, but I'm fifteen this year."

_(Fifteen years? And he's still here…? I don't understand why. He does seem like a nice kid…)_

Maybe this was just my own disability to walk past someone who was alone, but I couldn't imagine why nobody would want to take a kind person like this boy in… Then again, I had known him for all but thirty minutes now. That was probably not enough time to judge if you could live with someone for the rest of your days…

"Heh… It'd be even better if I didn't have to share my room with Dylan…" Apollo then admitted, scratching his head. "He can be pretty annoying at times… A lot more than my old roommate."

"Your old roommate?"

"Yeah. Dylan only moved in two years ago," he explained to me. "That was shortly after my old roommate was adopted. I had the room all to myself for a few months back then. Can't say I didn't enjoy it… but, well, then Dylan came, so…"

_(Sounds like he really didn't like that other boy too much…) _I thought to myself, _(And yet he's trying to defend him… This kid sure is something.)_

"Well… I guess I should go now." Apollo looked a bit nervous as he said that. "Heh… I'm sure gonna get it, once they figure out I was out that late and what happened to my foot… It was nice to meet you Sir. See you…"

"**HOLD IT!"**

I stopped the boy before he could leave.

"Hm?" He turned around towards me again, "Something else you want to tell me?"

"Well, actually… It's more of a question," I admitted to him. "If I can ask one, of course."

"A question?" Apollo looked puzzled. "Uhm… Sure. Ask away then, I guess…?"

_(This is my chance. If I want to find out what Sengage was doing down there, I have to try to do so now!)_

My hand was already in my pocket, touching the small trinket I still carried with me there. I grabbed it and focused.

"**TAKE THAT!"**

And with that, the single Psyche Lock on the boy reappeared before me.

_**~Dylan's reason~**_

Surprised, Apollo eyed the item in my hand, "Uhm… Nice… Stone?"

"Yeah…Thanks…" _(Why do I feel like we had that conversation before…?) _

"And… where did you get it?"

"From a friend, some time ago. But that's beside the point now," I leaned a bit forward towards Apollo. "What I want to know from you is what Dylan Sengage was doing near the crime scene today. Everything you know."

"Huh?" Apollo looked up surprised. "That again? I already told you! I have no idea!"

"Is that really the truth?"

With a rather serious expression on his face, Apollo looked straight at me, like he was trying to stare me away. "You think I was lying to you?"

"At the very least, you're not telling me everything you know. There's something you didn't tell me…

_And I have a feeling I know roughly what it was."_

My hand was back in my suitcase again already. I knew exactly what I was going to show him. Once again, Maya's kleptomania was proving itself to be a rather useful 'problem' after all. It was moments like this that I wondered what I would do without her.

"**TAKE THAT!"**

"I noticed," I told him. "that your clothes are lacking something."

"L-Lacking?" Apollo wondered, pressing his index finger to his forehead, like he was trying to figure out what I meant.

I nodded, "Yes. The Uniform of the Rising Sun High School features a _tie_. But you don't wear one. How come?"

"Uhh…" The boy backed off a bit, as it seemed that he was starting to figure out where I was going. Nervously, he tried to talk himself out of the corner I had gotten him into. "Eh… I, well… forgot it at home? …Ehe…"

"I don't think so."

"Huh?"

"You know what I think? I think that _this _is your tie."

Having said that, I showed him the tie Maya and me had found in the Janitor's office.

"T-That's just some tie!" Apollo claimed, but it was obvious that he knew he was not getting anywhere with this. And I proved this knowledge right.

"No, it's not. The emblem of your school is sewn onto it. It can't be Sengage's tie either. I clearly remember that he wore one when he ran out before. You're the only one it could belong to."

"Uhh…"

"You know where this tie was found?" I asked Apollo .

"Uhh…P-Pray tell?"

"It was stuck in the door to the Janitor's Office and kept the door from closing correctly. Meaning that whoever lost it there was in the Janitor's Office shortly before that."

"B… But that's crazy! What could I have wanted in the Janitor's Office?" Apollo argued. "I don't even know anyone who lives in that building!"

"You might have had no reason to go there… But someone else had. And that could have been the reason you were there as well."

"S-Someone else…?"

Apollo knew where I was going. I saw it in his eyes. The lock was about to be broken down into tiny little shards. All it needed was one last push.

I nodded.

"Yes…

_The person you followed into that Office was…"_

"**TAKE THAT!"**

In my hand, I held my notes on one certain person, alongside a photo.

"…Dylan…" Apollo said, as if he was reading out from the notes.

"I have a reason to think that too," I told him. "My friend and I were in the Janitor's Office earlier to take a look at the security footage of the day the murder happened. Guess what we found?"

"…Nothing." Apollo balled his hands to fists and looked away, before he started speaking a little louder. "You found nothing…"

The boy took one last, deep breath, before he looked back at me. And his face told me that he understood that I knew. And that there was no use hiding it.

"You couldn't have found anything," he told me. "Because he deleted it all before I could stop him."

And with this, the Psyche Lock shattered. The chains faded, as Apollo just stood there, looking disappointed, but not exactly shocked. He had probably figured that I was going to find out from the moment I showed that I had the tie with me.

**~UNLOCK SUCCESSFUL~**

"Yes, it's true," he admitted to me with a nod, "When I first found Dylan here, he first wanted me to help him. He told me I should _'look out for anybody coming our way'_ and just dragged me into that office. I had no idea what was going on and first just tried to go with it. By the time I realized he was erasing the security footage, it was already too late. I tried to talk to him about it, but he stormed out and I had to follow him quickly… That's how my tie got stuck in there. I wanted to take it back later, but when I came back…"

"It was already gone. Because Maya and I took it."

He nodded again, "Yeah."

"And do you know why he deleted the footage?"

"You can imagine, can't you?" Apollo crossed his arms. "I mean, I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet my allowance that it's got to do with that girl again."

"Lilie Heatherd…" I said more to myself than to Apollo.

_(Yes. I should have known all along… The footage was probably contradicting her testimony, so she sent that boy to delete it.)_

"There's still one more thing I'm wondering," I told Apollo, who immediately raised his attention again.

"One more thing?"

"Yes. How did Dylan open the door to the Janitor's Office?" I asked "All the doors in the Apartment Building have special locks that only open if you have the right Key Card. You don't so happen to know how he got past this?"

"…Oh… That…" Apollo sigh. "Yes… He does that all the time…"

"Huh? Does what all the time?"

"Lock picking."

And my ears perked.

"Lock…Picking…?" I paused and blinked a few times, wondering if Apollo was being serious. "But… That's a digital card lock!"

"That doesn't stop him," Apollo told me, his voice carrying a bit of… disdain, maybe? "He can open anything, from a Piggybank to a Safe. He used to brag about that a lot when he first moved in…"

I stared in amazement.

"Anything?"

Apollo nodded.

"Anything."

"But… But how?"

"I'm not really sure…" Apollo seemed to be trying to remember something. "But I think… it had something to do with his parents."

"His parents…?"

"I think his name was in the papers shortly before he got here, but… That's all I know, really. But I'm sure he could have opened that lock easily. He's good at cracking codes and is generally good with computers as well. It's kinda… his special field, I guess."

_(Sengage… I'll have to remember that…)_

"Thank you, Apollo," I told him. "You really helped me. This is something I needed to know…"

"Dylan didn't do it."

"Hm?"

I looked at Apollo again, as he repeated to me.

"You're… searching for the culprit in that murder case, right? The one who killed that girl."

Apollo stood up straight, trying to look as serious as he could.

"Please listen to me. Dylan's an idiot sometimes. And he is eating out of that girl's hand and would do anything she tells him, but… He wouldn't have done that. Never. So, please…"

There was something begging to his voice.

"Don't use what I've told you just now against him, alright? He doesn't know what he's doing, really. If he's really done anything that's got to do with that case, I'm sure it was that girl who made him do it. It's not his fault."

I looked at Apollo after that for a while. I saw a determination in his eyes that I knew all too well. It was the same determination I had seen in Edgeworth's eyes back on the day he defended me and we first became friends. The same determination I had seen in Mia's eyes, when she fought against Dahlia for my freedom. …The same determination Mia once told me I had myself as well.

"He is not your friend."

Apollo shook his head.

"I can't call him that, no."

"But… you _believe _in him… right?"

The boy paused for a bit, before he finally nodded clearly.

"Yes, I think I do."

"I see…"

I smiled. Yes, this boy sure was something. I just knew. He had something that was much too rare these days in my opinion…

"Say, you said you had no plans for your future?" I asked him, packing my things away again. I felt relaxed for some reason… And glad.

"Uhm… No, not yet. Why do you ask?"

"Well, " I finished closing my suitcase again. Then, I turned back towards Apollo. And smiled.

"Did you ever think of becoming a Lawyer?"

"A…Lawyer?"

Apollo stared at me for a bit, puzzled, maybe also feeling a bit ridiculed. I didn't think that he really understood what I meant by that… It soon turned out he really didn't.

"You mean… those guys who chase ambulances for clients?"

"E-Ehh—" I backed off slightly. Was that really how the teenagers saw us…? "Ehm… No… That's not the kind of 'lawyer' I was thinking of, to be honest."

Embarrassed, I put my hand behind my head, „I was actually thinking more along the lines of… A Criminal Defense Attorney."

"Defense Attorney…?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Defending and representing people who are being prosecuted by the state in court. You seem like the kind of person who could pull that off easily to me."

"Defending and Representing…"

Apollo looked like something in his mind was moving, like he was thinking through some possibilities. Something told me that I had piqued his interest.

"…Here."

I handed Apollo my business cards. I just felt that I had to do this.

"Think about for a while," I told him. "And if you ever need help… feel free to call me…"

With those words, I turned around to leave. Gatewater Hotel wasn't too far from here. The sidewalk would take me thirty minutes still, I knew that, but I just felt like walking now…

I, however, could only take a few steps, before I heard a voice behind me call out again.

"**HOLD IT!"**

"Wait! Sir!

I turned around again, to see Apollo. Confused, he was holding up the business card I had given to him, waving it around in the air.

"It says here you're a Prosecutor!" he shouted at me from that bit of distance.

I just waited a few moments… Then I lowered my head and smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"But I don't understand!" Apollo proceeded to shout. "You're telling me I should go and be a Defense Lawyer, but you're a Prosecutor yourself? That doesn't make sense!"

He balled his hands to fists. "I mean, you want to help people too, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't have helped me today! So… If you think I should be a Defense Lawyer because of that, then why are you a Prosecutor?"

This question was important to him. It was easy to tell. His whole mimic and gestures gave it away. This boy was really incredibly easy to read. He wanted an answer to this question. Badly. Maybe it was even important enough to him to influence his own decision in the end. So it would have probably been for the best to take a moment and think about my answer, tell him something that would sound reassuring to him…

But I didn't.

"I'd like to know that myself."

With those words that said absolutely nothing, I turned around again and left.

And I know that the boy with the bracelet kept staring at me from afar for a long time, as I walked down the sidewalk, away from the Orphanage. I could feel his eyes in my back.

* * *

_**Court Record**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. But it was partially cut before it ripped.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Maya's Letters  
_One of them was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

_*)Misty Fey's Book  
_A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.

_*)CD  
_Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.

_*)Nylon Gloves  
_Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.

_*)Brown Tie  
_Bears the emblem of the 'Rising Sun' High School. Found stuck in the door to the Janitor's Office

_*)Maintenance Work Data  
_Check for more details.

_*)VIP Pass  
_Allows one to enter and leave the shooting scenes of the 'Steel Samurai' movie as they please.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and current Master of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. Apparently able to pick about any kind of lock.

_*)?(Girl)  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

_*)Diego Armando  
_Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

_*)Pearl Fey(?)  
_Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

_*)Trucy  
_A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

_*)Morgan Fey  
_The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.

_*)Apollo_  
A Highschool Student living in the local Orphanage. Shares a room with Dylan Sengage.

* * *

_It is done. _

_DONE, DONE, DONE!_

_I am so sorry this chapter took me ages to write, but I was suffering from a severe case of writer's block, not exclusively, but largely thanks to the fact that I had some problems with studying for University- Don't worry it's relatively fine now, and even if I didn't pass the courses this semester, I don't care about having to do them again. I love Japanese Studies and am not averted to taking them for a year more than I originally planned._

_Another thing that kept me from progressing faster is that the Ace Attorney RP I started with some friends on the CR Backup Forums (which seem to be becoming the new main Forums now…) has gotten insanely huge and popular and I was just having so much fun playing it, that I spent most of my spare time doing so. ^^; I am playing Dahlia and Trucy in this RP… I originally intended to take Maya (you know she's my favorite), but due to some coincidences, I ended up with Trucy. I don't regret it, however. Playing Trucy thought me a whole new respect for the girl and I thought about cosplaying as her now, something I wouldn't have considered before. The RP spans 3 threads, one of which has recently broken the 1000 pages mark, that's how awesome it is. If you are on CR sometime, hey, check it out. It's really worth it, I promise. Where else can you watch Apollo ramming his head into a wall on purpose, or Maya possessing Nick and giving Edgeworth a heart attack doing so? ;-)_

_About this chapter: This is something I've planned to write from a pretty early point in planning of this fanfic. Surprisingly, the scene didn't change too much from my original first plans from it. The only thing that really changed was the setting. I originally wanted this whole talk to take place in a backyard with a pond, so Apollo could be throwing pebbles into the water in his frustration. Then, I decided that this was too similar to the many scenes at the river that this fanfic already has and changed it. Teenage!Polly was hard to get right, at first, since I had to write him without his Inner Monologue (of course) and from another person's perspective, but once I got into it, it started to flow. I had always intended for Nick to slip into Hobo-ish behavior when talking to Apollo in this scene. He did, but in a different way I would have imagined he would. Weird thing is, it happened all by itself. Sure, I had intended it to happen, but in the end, I didn't really have to "force it". When looking at Apollo from Nick's perspective… acting like this is suddenly surprisingly logical. Well, so much for "Out of Character Hobo". Ha. Take that, AJ bashers… I guess Apollo just prompts it. He's a nice kid, but, seriously, a little complicated at time. XD Makes me wonder how much different Nick would act in AJ if we were playing as another character... Ah, that's a Fic for another time, I guess. _

_I originally planned Apollo's Psyche Lock to be what I like to call "A Fail Lock"; a Psyche Lock that goes down in one present. However, Apollo wouldn't let me do that, when I wrote him. He demanded me to do at least two presents, before having him go down. And how could I deny my big Brother? —AH! No Neni, you are not RPing right now! You are not Trucy! Bad mindset, Bad Mindset! X.x_

…_So yeah, should I ever randomly start acting like Dahlia, you know the reason now. XD_

_As for the names of the Orphanage and the Street it's located in, I'll have to give two fellow CR Members credit for those. They came up with them for me during one of our RP-Skype-Sessions. "Letonova Boulevard" was the idea of "Athena Von Karma", who plays Thalassa and Morgan in the RP and acts as a stand-in for Ema's player occasionally. I am not exactly sure anymore who came up with "Sunview Orphanage", but I think it was my Co-GM Regiwi, who plays Phoenix and Von Karma. He makes an awesome Phoenix, seriously. No matter if Hobo!- or Layer!Form... It's really fun going all "Daaaaa~ddy" on him as Trucy... ^^  
_

_I'm rambling too much again. I should better get back to writing the next chapter, huh?_

_I hope you enjoyed this one! See ya later! _


	24. Helpless

**?**

"Come on! I'm almost there, just take my hand!"

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

I held my hand out to the little girl. She just pulled back and kept clinging to the branch she was stuck on. She wouldn't budge one inch. And she wouldn't look at me either. Every time I tried to look her in the eyes to make sure she knew that I was being serious about helping her, she would turn her head away.

I could hear the guys' voices shouting up to me,

"Whoa, Whoa, be careful, Nick!"

"Phoenix, do you really think that was such a good idea? It's not too late to come back down! Wait, I'll call my father for help…"

I shook my head,

"N-No, don't worry… I can do it!"

_(But this is so high up… *gulp*)_

I had to force myself to not look at the ground. I knew, if I did, I would get sick, much too sick to move anymore. I just really couldn't deal with heights. But the girl up here was so scared, I couldn't bring myself to just come down again and wait for someone else to come and help her, even though I was scared of heights myself.

Being scared is horrible. I knew that all too well. So I wanted to help her, even though she was making it hard.

I held out my hand again,

"Here! You just need to take it! I'll do the rest, I promise!"

But the girl kept holding on to her branch, and she started shaking her head,

"No, I will fall! If I take your hand, you'll pull me down, then let go and I will fall! I will fall and then I'll land on the floor, make 'splat' and be dead! That's what'll happen, yes!"

She started wailing and crying when she yelled that. I tried to calm her down,

"Huh? N-No! I won't! I'm your cousin's friend, so why would I do that to you?"

"Everybody does!" she wailed.

"C'mon, Lil'!" I heard Larry shout up to us, "Nick would never do something like that! He's too much of a wimp!"

"Yeah! ...Wait…"

I promised myself to think twice before agreeing with Larry from now on. His little cousin now finally turned her head towards me. But she looked at my hands. Still not at my eyes.

"… Why can't a shining prince come and save me?" she complained then.

"E-Eh… Because… I don't think there are any princes around," I replied a bit started. Then, I tried to make her take my hand again, "But, I promise, I won't let go of you, if you give me your hand! So please! Just trust me!"

"…"

She was still hesitating and she still didn't look me in the eyes. But then, finally, she let go of her branch with one hand,

"W-Well… if Larry says you won't… trick me... then…"

Her hand came closer. I stretched out mine a bit further. Just a bit more, just a bit more…

But in the end, it was a bit too much.

***CRACK***

That sound. It came suddenly. And it scared me right when I heard it. I felt something shaking, so I knew that it wasn't her branch that had made that sound… It was mine.

And just a moment after I realized that... the branch I was sitting on, slipped away. And I along with it.

I could hear Miles and Larry shout,

"PHOENIX!"

"NICK!"

And then I just closed my eyes and screamed.

_(I'm… I'm falling. I'm falling down, all the way… And when I hit the ground…)_

So this was it. This was how I was going to die… right? Sure. It was. I just knew it. It's not like I was lucky enough to survive that. Or strong enough. I had never been rather lucky or strong. Well, maybe a bit lucky. And maybe, I would have grown stronger. But now, I'd never know. Because this was where I would die. Right now. Any moment. When I hit the ground.

But… just when I was thinking that… I realized that it wouldn't come. The moment I hit the ground, I mean. It just didn't come. And I kept falling and falling…

_(W-What is going on?)_ I wondered to myself. _(Why am I still…? Why don't I…?)_

_You're not getting away that easily._

A voice. It seemed familiar and still strange. And that was when it all started… once again.

"_He did it! It's so obvious!"_

"_That he'd ever sink that deep!"_

A cold shock went through my body. I realized what was happening once again. As quickly as I could, I opened my eyes wide. And that was when I finally understood the reason why I wasn't hitting the ground.

"_How could he ever think he would get away with that?"_

"_We should have known that there was something wrong all along!"_

I wasn't falling any longer. I was floating. In water. And the surface. It was so… high… high above me… too high to reach…

"_Yeah! All this guy is really good at is bluffing!"_

"_He's probably been doing it like this all the time!"_

"_What a giant cheater!"_

_(Stop… Please… stop it…)_

I tried to swim, tried to reach the surface, but my distance to it only seemed to grow, until I could barely see the light patterns dancing on the water anymore.

"_What are we waiting for? Let's just get this over with and find him guilty!"_

"_Yeah, I think so too!"_

"_Guilty! He's guilty for sure!"_

I couldn't take this much longer. I knew it. I would run out of air. I would die. And I couldn't even scream, couldn't even cry. All I could do was try to fight and reach the surface. And I kept trying. Until every single one of my muscles hurt and I could barely even think.

The voices… Those voices were still there, talking to me, as if I had done it. As if I had done something wrong. As if they hated me. And I was scared.

Being scared is horrible. I knew that all too well. So I wanted to keep fighting… No matter how hard it would be.

But what could I do now? Was that really it? Could I really not even help myself?

"_Phoenix Wright, we are all very disappointed in you."_

_(Why…?)_

"_You betrayed the ideals you kept preaching yourself… That's despicable…"_

_(I would… never…)_

"_You're no longer worthy of your title."_

_(I… I worked so hard… why… why…?)_

I stretched out my arms, tried to reach for the light far above me, but I couldn't even touch it and could barely see it. It was as if a force, far stronger than me, was pulling me down. I didn't give up though. Not yet. Despite how horrible I felt. How much it hurt. How much I wanted to scream and cry. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. And I knew it. Actually… Actually I was just groping into nothingness, right? And I was completely aware of it. Every second.

…Someone was calling for me.

"_Nick!"_

I stopped moving. I knew that voice.

"_Nick, I know you're there! Stop playing around and answer!"_

It sounded weird, as if something was distorting it… But I knew the girl this voice belonged to. I just knew it. She was…

"_Do you think I don't get the newspaper up here? Look, I know, you'd never do that, so please, just answer me!"_

…my friend.

So… Why am I not answering her? Why am I not? Why can't I answer my friend?

"_Come on! Just pick up the receiver and tell me what really happened! I'm sure we can work this out! We always do! I mean, everybody knows that you didn't do that! Right? Right?"_

_(M-Maya…)_

"_You… didn't really… did you?"_

I couldn't move anymore. And without my resistance, I was sinking even quicker. But her voice stayed. And the despair in it grew.

"_Nick!"_ she screamed. _"Please, tell me that you didn't really do that! Not you! Not after everything we managed… Please!"_

I had no idea what was happening anymore. Why couldn't I just answer her? Why couldn't I just get up and pick up the phone?

"_Is it… because I left?"_

I shook.

_(…Maya?)_

"…"

_(M-Maya…!)_

I tried to move again, with all my might. But I couldn't. My body was like frozen. My mouth wouldn't open. I could just stare, as I sunk and just listen as her voice resumed talking.

"…_Y…You know… I'm gonna hang up now… I… I might try again later._

…_Maybe…I guess…."_

_(No… Maya…) _I wanted to reach for the light. So badly. _(Please don't go away… Not you too…)_

"… _Bye…"_

_(No… No, no, no, no, Maya…)_

"M…MAYA!"

And suddenly, I had that bit of power that I had been missing before. Suddenly, I could move again. Suddenly I could struggle to move, to reach out, towards the light again and…

And suddenly… I was standing on solid ground. And there it was again. Her voice.

"_Nick…!"_

"M-Maya!"

I looked around. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing was around me… The only thing there was, was this voice. And so, I turned into its direction. I tried to follow it.

_(Maya…)_

As I started running, I heard more things, more people… calling out for me…

"_Wright!"_

"_Mr. Wright!"_

"_Hey, Nick!"_

_(They are there, ) _I found myself thinking. _(They are all there… I… I just need to follow the sound and… And I'll…)_

I suddenly had strength again. It was, as if the voices drove me, pulled me towards them. I kept going and running and searching and, finally… Finally they were there. Right before me. All of them

Everybody was there. Edgeworth, Larry, Maya, Gumshoe, Franziska, Ema, Lana, Maggey… everybody.

"Ah…Nick!"

Maya… Maya was just turning around for me. And waving. And smiling.

"Over here!" she shouted. "Come, we've been waiting here all this time! Get going, old man!"

And as Maya said this and waved at me… They all turned to me. And they were all looking at me. None of them with anger or hatred. They were all smiling. Every one of them was smiling at me…

I didn't run up to them. I just stood there, looking at them… my friends. It felt so good to know that they're there. That they were glad to see me. But… But somehow, yet…

I raised my hand a bit. And then I led it into their direction. Just a bit… only a bit…

"Isn't this wonderful?"

A voice from behind me. I turned my head. And… found Pearls.

She too, was smiling at me. But somehow... something about her smile was different from that of the others. She bounced a bit,

"Everybody is here! Everybody wants you to be with them! Isn't that great, Mr. Nick?"

Pearls looked at me in anticipation for an answer. I still found myself a bit hesitating. Just to look at her. A part of me was wondering, why she was standing behind me… not with the others…

Finally, I nodded at her, "Yes… Yes it is."

"Go to them!"

I raise my head a bit. And for some reason… I shook.

Pearls was still smiling at me,

"Go to Mystic Maya and the others!" she said. "You like to be with them, right? You want to be with Mystic Maya and the others! So just go to them!"

"…"

It had returned, that feeling that I… couldn't move. That feeling like I was frozen and unable to do anything. All I managed to do was to turn around a bit, towards my friends again. And then I saw that they were starting to drop their smiles…

"…Go to them," I heard Pearls' voice behind me repeat. And I could feel that she, too, had dropped her smile again. "Why are you hesitating, Mr. Nick? Don't you like them anymore?"

"…"

I tried to move. I wouldn't budge an inch. I tried to stretch out my hand further. It wouldn't move even a bit more. I was stuck and didn't even know why.

"Go to them," Pearls repeated, "Go to Mystic Maya and the others… Before they go away."

"…Go… away?" My voice shook in fear when I repeated what she said.

"Don't you want them to stay? Don't you want to stay with them? Don't you want to stay with Mystic Maya?"

"I… I…"

It was no use. I tried to run- I remained standing. I tried to shout- My voice wouldn't work. The faces of my friends turned more and more confused and disappointed at I struggled on,

'_Guys, wait for me!' _I wanted to say, _'I'll be over there with you in a moment. Don't leave me alone.'_

But I it didn't work. Like I was being pulled back, pulled down, like I was stuck. And then… Then suddenly, I lowered my head. I couldn't look at them anymore. I couldn't even look them in the eyes.

"_Nick!" _

Maya's voice…

"_Nick, what's wrong! Come on, just talk to someone!"_

"_Wright! There are people demanding an explanation! So would you please open your door and let someone talk to you? Anyone!"_

"_Come on, Nick, just slide in the key and let us in, it's not like WE'VE done anything to you, right!"_

"_If you stay like this for much longer, we'll have to use force, Pal!"_

My body was shaking and felt cold. Cold, like I was freezing. It was so cold, it stung like needles. I knew, if I moved, I would warm up and the pain would stop, but… But I wouldn't move.

"Mr. Nick…"

Pearls' again…

"Mr. Nick… Why won't you answer the calls? Why won't you open the door?"

"…I… I can't…"

"Why?"

"…"

She kept talking to me.

"Mystic Maya has been calling and calling for you… Why won't you answer her, Mr. Nick?"

"I can't…"

_(Why can't I…? Why…? What's the… reason…?)_

"Don't you like her anymore? Do you want to be alone?"

"I just can't… face them anymore…"

"_Without a single friend in the world?"_

"NO!"

I finally screamed. I finally broke down into my knees. I couldn't take it. I couldn't take it anymore. No more. I wanted it to stop.

"No, I don't want to be alone!" I yelled, "But I can't face them! I can't just talk to them! I wouldn't know what to say! I… I…"

_(I did… what? What happened! What did I do…? Where was my mistake?)_

"I…I can't even… explain myself… I… I have no right to… I… _I disappointed everybody!"_

I slammed my fists into the floor. Hard. And the sound was loud. So loud, it echoed on for a short while. But except for that… There was silence.

Were the others still there? Had they left already? I didn't even know. But it didn't matter. Because I knew I didn't have the strength to look up. I couldn't look at them, couldn't face them. Not after what happened.

I… disappointed them, right? Their hopes in me… their trust. They had all believed in me. And I failed them. I failed them all.

Yes, that was what happened… That was what I couldn't remember.

I had been careless… Too convinced of myself… Acted too quickly.

I ran. I ran without thinking. Then I tripped. I had tripped and couldn't find my balance again. And that was why I fell. And I was still falling. I felt it. I felt that I was still falling.

They were too high above me. I wouldn't be able to reach them, even if I tried. So I couldn't try. Not really. The struggle that I put up was fake… A fake, just like…

…

I couldn't struggle to explain myself. I couldn't face them. It was impossible.

I sat on the floor. And I breathed heavily. And there was silence.

"…"

I heard steps behind me. Someone… No, I knew who. Pearls. Pearls was coming closer…

"Mr. Nick… Are you a liar?"

"N-No…"

I held my head with both hands and shook it.

"But you lied. They all say you lied. And when you told Mystic Maya that we would all stay friends... that was a lie too, right?"

"No!" I shouted. "No, I am not lying! We're still friends, we'll always be! I… I just… I…"

"_Why are you afraid of answering then!"_

I looked up. She had yelled at me. Actually yelled, loudly and full of anger. Turning my head towards her, I stuttered,

"P-Pearls…"

"Coward!" she shouted, "You're a coward and a liar! You lied to Mystic Maya, all along, admit it!"

"Pearls… I didn't…"

"You broke your promise!"

I stopped breathing for a short moment.

"...My… promise?"

I looked at her. How she balled her little hands to fists… And stared down at me in anger. How she glares at me, as if she hated me with ever part of her being. How she frowned, as if she was about to cry…

"…Pearls…?"

"You…" Her fists shook for a moment. "…**LIAR!**"

I backed off.

"P-Pearls…"

"Everything was a lie! Everything! You lied to everyone and you lied to Mystic Maya too, right, right?"

"I…I…"

"_Phoenix Wright, we are all very disappointed in you."_

"…!"

And it started again… All over again, all over again.

"_He did it! It's so obvious!"_

"_That he'd ever sink that deep!"_

"_How could he ever think he would get away with that?"_

"_We should have known that there was something wrong all along!"_

"_Yeah! All this guy is really good at is bluffing!"_

"_He's probably been doing it like this all the time!"_

"_What a giant cheater!"_

And it wouldn't stop. I couldn't even cry, couldn't even scream and it wouldn't stop.

"_You betrayed the ideals you kept preaching yourself… That's despicable…"_

"_You're no longer worthy of your title."_

I just wanted it to stop… That was all I wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.

"_I trusted you Nick… I believed in you!"_

"…!"

Maya's voice. Maya's voice was yelling at me... cold and harshly, striking me like someone was kicking me on the floor again and again. And only now I realized what the other voices were…

Those were the voices of people I knew. People who meant something to me. People who had set their trust in me. My friends, my clients…

…People I had disappointed.

And they wouldn't stop. The voices wouldn't stop. Pearls' voice. Their voices. Nothing stopped. No matter how long it went on.

"_You are a liar, Mr. Nick! A coward and a liar!"_

_(I can't take this anymore…) _I thought to myself. _(I want it to stop! I want it to end… Just be over… Please… Why can't I just… vanish…! Why can't I just forget it all and vanish… Vanish to somewhere where it all never happened… will never happen… Just stop it… Just… Just…)_

"_**That is enough!"**_

I looked up. A voice. A voice that split right through the other voice. There was a light and then…

Then the yelling from all sides… was over.

* * *

It happened suddenly. But all I really know is that from one moment to the other, everything appeared to be a lot … clearer. Also, whatever had restricted me was suddenly gone. I could move freely again. I could finally stop cowering on the ground and sit up straight. I really needed to do that…

There was a woman who hadn't been there before. She had just appeared. I didn't understand where she had come from, but there she was. And it was a woman I knew.

That woman was Mia. Mia Fey, as I had always known her, in her black jacket and skirt. She had a stern, serious expression on her face, as she walked in my direction. She didn't look at me however. She was looking at someone else instead…

The only other person that was here with me. And this person was directly behind me.

"I've been watching this going on for long enough now," Mia declared, not blinking even once as she spoke.

"…"

Pearls just looked up at her in silence. All of the anger and emotion that had been there before had disappeared from her face. Instead, her expression was rather… empty. And so, the two Fey Women went on to stare at each other, intensely. And in the middle of all of that, looking alternately at each of them in confusion, was me.

Not much happened for the next few minutes, except maybe for me wondering just what was going on here. Only now, it actually came to me how surreal and confusing the situation – strike that – _everything_ that had happened in the past minutes was. As I was still trying to make sense of the scenario, Mia took another step towards Pearls. Her expression was even colder than before. She slightly lowered her head, before she asked.

"…Who are you?"

"…"

'Pearls' didn't reply. Instead, she took a step backward. And then, she vanished. Just like that, she disappeared into thin air.

I just stared,

"H-How… What… Why…?"

"Hmpf… I see, this is the game she wants to play…"

When I heard Mia say this, I turned towards her. She took a few steps closer towards me,

"Well… At least she is leaving you alone for now. That is at least something, I think…"

She approached me then. I didn't know why, but somehow, I felt alarmed when she did that. As if it was instinctively, I raised my arms, backed off, and took a protective stance.

"P- Please don't yell at me!" I heard myself beg.

_(…Eh… What…? 'Don't yell at me'? … Seriously? I…I don't even know why I said that. Something is wrong…)_

"Phoenix," I felt Mia putting her hand on my shoulder. "Phoenix, calm down. It's over. I'm not going to do anything to you."

I slowly let my arms down and looked at her. Mia was smiling warmly now… A good feeling. I got a bit calmer.

"I…It's over…" I repeated what she said to myself. "…Right…"

"Do you know who I am, Phoenix?" she then asked.

I replied rather quickly, due to how out-of-place the question seemed to me.

"Of course I know who you are, Mia! You're Mia Fey, Maya's older sister, and you mentored me. Why do you think I wouldn't…" I stopped after I had heard myself talking for a bit. Somewhat shocked, I led my fingers to my lips, "My… My voice…!"

Before I could even really realize what exactly was wrong with it, however, Mia had resumed talking.

"…Alright, you recognize me… That means you can access most of your memory. And your consciousness seems to be rather clear right now too… That's good. It will make this easier," Mia said, examining me with her eyes.

"Chief…?"

"Listen Phoenix, we need to hurry with this. I have no idea for how much longer your REM-phase will last."

"Ehm.. R…E…M?" I stared up at Mia, puzzled. … Wait. 'Up'?

Staring 'up' at Mia wouldn't have been so weird had I still been sitting on the floor, of course, however, I was pretty sure that I had gotten up onto my feet somewhere along the way. I checked again –Yes, I was standing. Which meant that either Mia had grown a LOT since I last saw her, or…

I finally dared to take a look down myself. What I found was... not exactly normal.

"W-What…! I… I'm…!"

" '_Rapid Eye Movement Phase'_, Phoenix," Mia explained to me in response to my previous question, as I was still staring down my body. "I'm sure you heard about it in School sometime. It's the time during sleep in which people dream. The length of those phases differs from night to night and from person to person."

I was now examining my hands. "S-So… This is… a dream…?"

_(This explains… a lot… And yet so little…)_

Mia laughed a bit, "Don't worry, it's only normal you have a hard time understanding things right now. Your mind is set on the dream, so you can't think quite as clearly as when you're awake… We're lucky that you're even able to remember me like this, really…"

"R-Remember you… Yeah… But still…" I was still too focused on eyeing myself from bottom to top over and over again to pay too much attention to what Mia was saying. "T-This is wrong!"

I ended up wrapping my arms around myself and hadn't Mia just told me that this is a dream, I would have probably also prayed that it was one. Still, for some reason knowing that it was one didn't really make me any calmer.

"W-Why am I looking like this? That's… not how I'm supposed to look! Why am I…a…"

"A Kid?" Mia ended the sentence for me. "Well, that's something only you can answer yourself, Phoenix."

I looked up at Mia again. "…Myself?"

"This is your mind, Phoenix," she explained to me, "Everything that exists here exists in your thoughts and feelings. Your appearance here, too, is based on your thoughts."

"I-I didn't want to look like that!" I immediately insisted.

"Yes, maybe not consciously. But maybe this is how you see yourself at the moment?"

"How I…see myself…?"

Mia leaned down to me a bit and put her hands on my shoulders, "You're confused and feel helpless right now. That has left you a bit fragile. Maybe this is your mind's way of expressing this…"

"Fragile…" I blinked at Mia, feeling a bit uneasy being referred to as this. "But… I… I don't get it! Why would I be… I don't want to be-"

"Phoenix. Calm down," Mia told me again. "Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And believe in yourself."

_(Believe in myself…)_

After a little hesitation, I gave Mia a short nod. "Alright."

Then I lowered my head and did exactly what she had told me. I tried to just get down and regain my composure. And, most of all, stop feeling as if somebody would attack me again any second. After all, I was a grown man. I shouldn't be that paranoid of people yelling at me. And it had just been a dream. Nothing but a dream. Nothing of it had been real… right?

"..."

I opened my eyes again, finding myself on eye height with Mia. She smiled at me.

"Better…?" I asked a bit unsure.

"Much better," she replied.

"Suit and all?" I asked, just to check, while also looking down my body once again.

"Suit and all," She nodded.

I saw that she was right and sighed. "That's fine then…"

"Alright, let's move on then," Mia said, her expression turning more serious again. She crossed her arms. "First of all, I guess you'll want to know what is going on and why I am here, right?"

That was just like Mia. She always knew how and where to start dealing with a problem and never had trouble figuring out what was the right thing to say or ask. This, as well as a few other things were telling me that I was really speaking to Mia Fey here. Yet, there was still the fact that she had said herself that all of this was just a dream… Leaving me confused. But, again, she had started the conversation just the right way, giving me a chance to get rid of this question at the very start,

"Well, there are a lot of things I don't understand right now," I explained to her. "Like, for example… You. That you are here, I mean. Mia… How are you here? Is it really you or is this, too, just part of that dream I'm having right now?"

Mia listened closely as I spoke and smiled when I was about to finish my question. She tilted her head a little. "I can promise you that I'm real, Phoenix… As 'real' as the spirit of a dead person can be, at least."

"So, you are…"

She nodded, "The Mia Fey you know. The one who died three years ago. Unlike everything else you've encountered in the past two days, I belong to the world that you remember."

My eyes opened wide when I heard this, "Y-You know about my situation?"

"I've seen everything that's been going on around you, ever since you woke up in that apartment," Mia explained. "Even if you didn't notice me, Phoenix… I've been with you all the time."

"Mia…"

I looked at my mentor in confusion. Even though she did her best to explain everything to me, I still had a hard time understanding what was happening. Had she really been there? By my side? All the time? I didn't even know that this was possible… Then again, I actually hadn't known that _any _of this was possible until it actually, well, happened.

"As to how I'm here, I'm afraid that I can't really tell you much about that beyond that I came here along with you…"

"Along with me?" I asked.

Mia tilted her head, "I was… watching you at the time you got here. One way or another, I ended up getting dragged along."

_(So Mia is just as trapped here as I am,) _I realized. _(But… 'Watching over me'? What exactly does that mean? I thought she decided I didn't need her help any longer?)_

"So… 'Here'… This 'other world'…"

"I am sorry, but I don't really know what this place is either," Mia said, before I could even ask the question. "I'm just as clueless as you."

"Oh…"

"…I have a few theories, however."

"Hm?" I listened up, "What kind of theories?"

"Well… This place could be many things. The most obvious choice would be a literal parallel universe, of course. A world in which one detail in history was changed to completely alter everything after it. Let's just assume that for every option of what could happen in a certain situation, the not-taken options don't just vanish, but rather 'split off' into their own realities. That would mean that the reality we come from is just one of many, many possible ones. And this reality would have split off from ours at some point during our youths…"

"S-Something like this exists?" I asked in amazement.

"I don't know," Mia replied with a shrug. "Again, it is just a theory… Albeit an interesting one, don't you think?"

"Uhm… Yeah, I guess so. It does sound interesting…"

_(Separate universes for everything that ever could have happened? That means there'd be an endless number of different 'Me's out there…!)_

"Another possibility is that this all is actually just a kind of… _dream _of yours."

"A dream?" I asked. "But… I am dreaming right now! Would it be possible to dream within a dream?"

"I don't know," Mia responded. "I may have used to be a Spirit Medium, but even we don't know about everything a Soul is capable of. For all that I know, this whole other 'World' could just be an Illusion that you created for yourself."

"But… Why would I dream up something like this!"

"…"

Mia remained silent. It was a kind of silence that unsettled me. As if there was something she didn't want to talk about… And I decided that maybe I shouldn't address her about it right away. So I moved on.

"Talking about Spirits… The girl before…"

As soon as I mentioned the girl, Mia's eyes slanted, "Her…"

"She's not the real Pearls, is she?", I asked Mia, causing her to nod slightly, going into a kind of pondering stance.

"I don't know who she really is, or if she even actually is a 'she'. But I do know that she has been here ever since this all started. I suspect that she has something to do with how we got here in the first place…"

"Wait… You don't know if it's actually a 'she'?"

"She took Pearl's form, presumably copying it from your memory, but I'm rather sure that her actual form is different from her current one. Though…"

"Though…?" I tried to get her to finish the sentence. She nodded, understanding what I wanted.

"…Though there are some similarities between her and Pearl aside from her appearance… I'm sure you noticed already…?"

"Yes," I nodded. "That confuses me as well. I mean, she calls me 'Mr. Nick'… And seems to be rather obsessed with getting Maya and me together… wait!"

I looked up at Mia. "You don't think that she's 'another' Pearls, do you? I mean, you must have heard what Maya said! Pearls… she never even existed… here…"

"Well… to be exact, this 'Maya' only said that a girl by that name wasn't born. About 'existing', however…"

"…?" In confusion, I stared at Mia, hoping for her to explain this more. However, apparently she didn't think that this was worth our limited time.

"…In any case, we shouldn't make any hasty assumptions. All I really know is that this 'girl' is a spirit and probably a malevolent one."

"Malevolent… You mean because she caused me those nightmares?"

"Not just that," Mia said. "I think that she used a weakness in your inner Defense in order to gain herself access here. Ever since she's been here, she's been trying manipulate you from inside."

I almost jumped. "M-Manipulate me?"

"She attempted to alter your emotions and even your memory. Thankfully, you're a rather strong person and withstood her rather well so far, so I managed to interfere and avert almost all of the damage… I couldn't prevent those nightmares though. Excuse me."

"But she messed with my memory… That means the reason for those Psyche Locks-"

Mia shook her head. "No, Phoenix. Those Psyche Locks were not created by that girl. Those are yours and yours alone. In fact, I think those locks are part of the reason she was unable to actually take influence or implant on your memories so far… Some of the memories she wants to alter must be sealed away by those.

"So the locks are protecting me?"

"In a way, yes. However, I don't think they are only protecting you from this girl…"

"…?" I listened up, "Mia… What else could they be protecting me from, you think?"

"…" In a way that is absolutely unusual for Mia, she turned her head away, to the side, "…Isn't it obvious? The memories they are sealing off themselves."

"But why would those memories be 'dangerous' for me?"

"…"

Mia said nothing. But she closed her eyes, moved a bit uncomfortably… And then, it happened.

The chains and locks appeared. Three locks. And Mia looked at them, as if she could see them… Of course she could. This was my mind. And if thoughts were real here… So were Psyche Locks.

"Mia…"

A thin smile appeared on her face,

"I guess you know now that I know it… The truth behind your own 'Psyche Locks'."

"… Mia!" I took a step towards her. "What is it? If there's really something I don't remember… I need to know! Please!"

"…" Mia just looked at me, and her face was unreadable. Was she sad? Was she disappointed? Was she struggling to regain that thin smile from before? If it was the last one… she managed to do so after a minute,

"…I think it's better if you find out yourself. Phoenix…"

"Find out myself… But I can't!" I told her. "I have those locks on me! And how am I supposed to question myself? There's no way I can break them without your help! Chief! Mia! Please!"

Mia just turned her head away. "…and, to be absolutely honest, even if this is selfish… I'd also rather not be the person who tells you about it…"

"M-Mia…!"

Surprised, I just stared at her. Something… something that not even Mia wanted me to remember. Something that _I _didn't want to remember. Just what could that have been? What could that possibly have been?

"Please, understand me, Phoenix," she turned her head back at you and smiled. "You… were my student. And I always enjoyed watching you learn and grow. And I always knew that you had great promise and are very strong… And I… still do. I still believe in you. This is something I want you to remember, alright?"

_(What happened! Just what happened!)_

"Phoenix… You are a good person and a great lawyer. You can believe that. It's the truth. Never forget it, please."

"But-"

* * *

"_In the end, it doesn't matter if I tell you or not, Phoenix. This is a dream, remember?_

_And dreams aren't a reliable source of information. You should know that._

_I'm glad we could talk though. Thank you. And keep going. I know that you can solve this case. Just try to keep smiling. And don't give up. Neither on the ones you're fighting for… nor yourself."_

* * *

I was asleep and woke up immediately forgetting everything I might or might not have dreamt that night, which is quite normal for me. Maya once told me that writing down your dreams right after waking up helps getting better at remembering them, but, to be honest, I'm not keen on being able to remember every single one of my nightmares in detail.

* * *

_**Court Record**__:_

_Evidence:_

_*) Prosecutor's Badge  
_I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

_*) Magatama  
_This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

_*) Photo of Iris  
_A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.

_*) Victim(?) Note  
_Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

_*) Snackoos Bag  
_Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

_*) Dart  
_A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

_*) Rope  
_Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. But it was partially cut before it ripped.

_*)Sketch  
_A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

_*)Autopsy Report  
_Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

_*)Crime Scene Photo 1  
_Check for details

_*)Crime Scene Photo 2  
_Check for details

_*)Knife  
_The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

_*)Fingerprint List  
_Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

_*)Badge  
_One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

_*)Maya's Letters  
_One of them was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

_*)Misty Fey's Book  
_A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.

_*)CD  
_Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.

_*)Nylon Gloves  
_Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.

_*)Brown Tie  
_Bears the emblem of the 'Rising Sun' High School. Found stuck in the door to the Janitor's Office

_*)Maintenance Work Data  
_Check for more details.

_*)VIP Pass  
_Allows one to enter and leave the shooting scenes of the 'Steel Samurai' movie as they please.

_Profiles:_

_*) Phoenix Wright  
_I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

_*) Miles Edgeworth  
_An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

_*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)  
_Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

_*) Mia Fey  
_Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

_*) Iris Fey  
_Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and current Master of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

_*) Dahlia Fey  
_Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

_*) Ema Skye  
_The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

_*) Lana Skye  
_The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

_*) Dick Gumshoe  
_Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

_*) Klavier Gavin  
_Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

_*) Lilie Heatherd  
_A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

_*)Franziska von Karma  
_Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

_*)Misty Fey  
_Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a girl from her family near the crime scene at the day of the murder.

_*)Maggey Byrde  
_A young woman who works at the courthouse cafeteria. She's infamous for her incredibly bad luck.

_*)Dylan Sengage  
_Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. Apparently able to pick about any kind of lock.

_*)?(Girl)  
_A girl. With keys in her hair. …Just what was that about?

_*)Diego Armando  
_Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

_*)Pearl Fey(?)  
_Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

_*)Trucy  
_A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

_*)Morgan Fey  
_The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.

_*)Apollo_  
A Highschool Student living in the local Orphanage. Shares a room with Dylan Sengage.

* * *

_So yeah, the entire chapter is a dream and does thus not further the murder mystery… Cheers! ;-)_

_Sorry for not updating in a while, but I was busy cosplaying and the likes… But I am glad I finished this chapter. I really like it. Mind-Screw! ;-D_

_I just hope you guys like it… I know, Mind-Screw like this isn't everyone's forté._

Hm… Aside from that? Well, I guess that chapter provided some WMGing fooder. I will be waiting for reviews in excitement.

_I hope I can cater to your guys expectations… I am trying hard to keep the quality up! ^^_

_Hm… What else to say… Oh yeah!_

_PHOENIX IN MARVEL VS CAPCOM YEEEEEEEEEAHHH!_

_Goodnight, everybody!_

Neni Over and Out! ;-)


	25. Unexpected People

_**Important Notice:**_

_**Due to CR dot Net being online again, I finally managed to bring the Court Record of this Fanfic back up-to-date, meaning you can effectively guess along again! The link to the CR Thread for my Fanfic (containing every chapter's court record) is in my Profil, just like it was half a year ago and should work now! I suggest you to take a look at the Court Record and everything in it before reading this chapter, as it is a Trial Chapter. Also, I have removed the Pseudo Court-Record from the end of this chapter, simply for taking up space and being impractical. After all, there's the actual Court Record on CR now, once again. If you guys want the Pseudo Court-Record back, however, I will return it where it was. Just tell me. ;-)**_

* * *

**May 3****rd****, 6:30am**

**Gatewater Hotel**

The next morning I had the most colossal headache in my recent life, at least since the incident with the fire extinguisher two years ago. My throat was sore and my back ached. It was pretty much the definition of a bad sleep. Of course, that was just the natural result of me falling asleep on the desk with the computer running in front of me all night.

"Ungh…"

I massaged my temples for a bit, as I tried to sit up straight again and stretched in order to feel a bit less like a piece of wood stuck in a pile.

_(…Well… I guess I can call myself lucky for not falling out of the chair. Now… what was I doing again, before I fell asleep? …Oh, yeah…)_

The reason I spent my night in this rather uncomfortable position came back to me. It was because of that one comment the boy I had met the day before had made. 'Apollo'… That had been his name, right? When we were talking about Dylan Sengage… He had mentioned something that had caught my interest a lot.

* * *

_"Yes… He does that all the time…"_

_"Huh? Does what all the time?"_

_"Lock picking."_

_"Lock…Picking…? But… That's a digital card lock!"_

_"That doesn't stop him. He can open anything, from a Piggybank to a Safe. He used to brag about that a lot when he first moved in…"_

_"Anything?"_

_"Anything."_

_"But… But how?"_

_"I'm not really sure… But I think… it had something to do with his parents."_

* * *

And that was why the first thing I had done that night when I got back to my hotel room was sit down at the room's PC and access the internet. There was information I needed. I had a sneaking suspicion regarding what I had heard in this conversation and wanted to have solid proof for it.

I finally put my hand back on the mouse and focused my eyes on the screen before me,

_(Well… Let's see what good my research did… )_

Carefully, I looked over the contents of the opened Browser Window; however, I didn't need long to realize that I must have cracked the jackpot just before I fell asleep the night before.A smirk formed on my lips as I read over the archived newspaper article which I had found.

"Bingo."

My next action was to lead the mouse cursor to the "Print" Symbol in the upper right corner of the screen. There it was. The decisive piece of evidence that would clear up and explain the greatest contradiction in this case once and for all. With this, everything finally started to make sense...

There was only one thing left to do for me now, before the trial would resume at 10am. As the newspaper article was still being printed out, I picked up the receiver of the hotel room's phone and called a certain number that I was glad to have memorized,

"Gumshoe? …Yes, Phoenix Wright here. Listen, there's a favor I have to ask you for…"

* * *

**May 3****rd****, 9:30am  
District Court  
Defendant Lobby No. 2**

Three hours and several tries to get my back to stop hurting like crazy - I did not succeed – later, I found myself standing in a familiar lobby, facing a familiar person, holding coffee from a familiar vending machine.

Maya and Iris were there, chatting excitedly on the sofa next to us, as I explained a few things to the man I was facing.

"Evidence that supports my theory…?" Edgeworth, whose cup, unlike mine, contained tea, asked, taking a long sip from it. He eyed me in a skeptical manner as he did, causing me to reply as assuredly as I could.

"This trial is going to be as standard and fair as possible, I promise, so I won't give you the evidence now or tell you anything more about it. I will present it when the time has come. But it's become more than obvious now that Lana is less than likely to be the actual culprit, Edgeworth. I will represent the standpoint that she did it only for as long as necessary. And then… I am counting on you to present me a solid line of reasoning that proves it couldn't have been her. I know you can do it. Nobody can if you can't."

"And once that has happened, you will drop the lawsuit against Lana Skye immediately, correct?" Edgeworth asked, giving me a stern expression.

"Well, we need a plausible other suspect to prosecute instead first, "I nodded. "But I think this won't be a problem either. I am sure that we can figure this out quickly if we work together… The truth behind this case, I mean."

"The truth," a smile appeared on Edgeworth's face. A little thin, but still. "You have no idea how much it means to me to hear those words from your mouth."

"Edgeworth…"

"Anyway," the smile vanished, as quickly as it had appeared. "Any progress with your memory, Wright?"

I shook my head.

"No, no changes… "

_(Though… I feel like there is something I am forgetting when I say that…)_

"I see…" A hint of disappointment mixed into Edgeworth's expression. He sighed. "In that case, let us end this trial as soon as possible without rushing things. We need to find a way to…"

"Edgeworth," I leaned forward a bit. "I am fine. Please, _I_ shouldn't be the one who has to remind _you _that this case has priority now. This just isn't… right."

Edgeworth's eyes shifted away, as he was pondering aloud.

"Your condition is worrying, though…"

"Do you really think that, or are you forcing yourself to think it?

When I said that, I could see how Edgeworth, clearly caught off-guard, opened his eyes wide and looked into my direction again.

"…Because what happened to me doesn't fit into view of the world? Because you can't accept that there might not be anything 'wrong' with me at all actually?

I knew that claiming something like this was a lie, at least partly. I knew that there was _something _wrong with me… But the feeling that Edgeworth wasn't taking me for full, but rather saw me as a confused, helpless child at the moment irritated me too much to just ignore it. I wanted him to have more faith into me… Even if 'this' Edgeworth and me barely even knew each other in reality. It still meant something to me.

"Edgeworth. Just _trust_ me." I told him. "We will finish this trial and everything else comes later."

_(It feels weird, acting like I was the calmer one for once…)_

Edgeworth's thoughts were probably similar to mine, since this was the moment that he visibly tried to focus his thoughts a bit better again and told me,

"Hm… 'Trust you'. I see… In any case…" He looked up. "I assume you know by now whom I suspect of being the true culprit?"

I nodded.

"Yes, and I believe I have the same-"

"No," Edgeworth interrupted me before I could say more. "Wright. You are the Prosecution. Don't forget this. Your suspect is Lana Skye… Until I have taken every shred of doubt off her."

He looked confident when he finished this last sentence, letting me know that he knew just as well as me that this moment would come.

"Right. Thank you. I will remember that."

"Though," he focused his eyes on me again, looking slightly troubled. "What remains is the issue of Ms. Skye's confession."

"Yes. I know," I told him.

"It will be hard to revoke the lawsuit against her until she takes it back," Edgeworth emphasized. "I hope you are aware of that."

"Well… about that… Actually, I already had something prepared for this."

Clearly surprised, Edgeworth's attention raised visibly; his eyes focused on me.

"Prepared…?"

"Hey, Maya, Iris, could you come over here for a moment?"

The girls had barely heard me addressing them when they got up from their seats, taking a few steps towards us, Maya in her usual girlishly hopping way of moving and Iris with a bit more 'grace'.

"Yeah, Nick?" Maya came straight to my side. "Something you wanted to tell us?"

Edgeworth eyed Maya in a suspicious manner, still slightly puzzled by how quickly her behavior towards me had changed, even though he was aware that she knew about my 'state'.

"If there is anything we can help the two of you with," Iris started to say, as she stepped up to us, and then smiled. "…We'd happy to support you!"

"Actually, for now I only need the two of you to stand here and pay attention to the door over there," I told Iris, before I felt how someone took me by my shoulder with one hand.

"Wright," Edgeworth addressed me rather sternly. "We were in the middle of a conversation, if I am not mistaken. You were about to tell me you had something in mind regarding Ms. Skye's refusal to revoke her confession."

"Just give it a few moments, Edgeworth. They should be ready any second now…"

Edgeworth's expression changed rapidly from serious and borderline scolding to confused and questioning.

"…'They'?"

I just grinned – it was sure a good feeling to know a bit more than him, at least once in my life – as I raised my hand and started counting down aloud, moving my fingers accordingly,

"3…2…1…"

The sound of a door flinging open and banging against the wall next to it was what followed – incidentally, it was the same door I had asked Iris and Maya to watch before – as a person stepped inside with an incredible amount of enthusiasm on his face, exclaiming loudly,

"_Surprise!"_

Iris and Maya's eyes grew. Edgeworth, too, let the hand which had still rested on my shoulder sink and stared for a bit, as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of what he saw. I just stood by their side, observing and happy that it had all worked out. It looked like Gumshoe had been able to go through with the request I had asked him to carry out for me a few hours before.

The Detective stood in the door waving at us with his right hand. And by his sides, left and right from him, two women were entering the room alongside the man. One a bit older, brunette and dressed in black, the other seeming younger, red-haired and wearing a white summer dress.

"S-S…_SIS_!," Maya beside me exclaimed in disbelief, already running off towards the door, as I could still hear Iris whisper _'Sister…!'_ timidly before she went after Maya with an increasing pace.

That was the moment I made my decision that I didn't care what kind of consequences I would have to face later for ordering two convicted 'criminals' to be brought out to the public courthouse, even more than before. The scene that followed was more than worth every penalty I could get. With even more energy than usual –which is saying a lot – Maya leapt at Mia as soon as she was in reach and then clung to her, as if she was about to fall into a bottomless hole and her sister was the only thing to hold onto. I mused to myself that this image was probably a bit too depressing for a happy scene as this, as Maya went on to tell Mia, "I missed you so much, Sis! You wouldn't believe it!" while still hugging her.

Mia just warmly smiled, "Actually, I think I know very well how much you missed me, Maya… Because I'm pretty sure, I missed you the same."

Mia then hugged Maya back, as the two of them laughed. Meanwhile, just a meter away, the visible scene wasn't too different, despite having something mirror-like to it that Maya and Mia would never be able to achieve. Of course. Maya and Mia weren't twins.

"Dahlia…" Iris was holding both of her sister's hands, making the two of them look like school girls who were about to make a promise. Her eyes were wet, "I… I was so scared for you! To think you… a place like this…"

"Shh, shh, now…

As Dahlia was visibly attempting to calm her sister down, I myself attempted something very different, and that was not to think too much about this scene. It was Dahlia I was seeing here… And my stomach still twisted at this thought. The thought that this scene was even _possible _with Dahlia. Without lies or facades… Just real, sisterly love. But there they were, and Dahlia was holding Iris' hand in a manner that was so soft, it was hard for me to believe that this was the same woman who had killed three people and attempted to kill three more, including me.

"It's fine, Iris," she told her sister, and for a moment I found it hard to believe that it was really her voice, since it lacked both the overly sweet, charming tone of her fake self, as well spite and sarcasm of the 'real' Dahlia I had known. "I'm here now, alright? Don't go and start crying. This is really not the moment for it."

"D-Dahlia…"

Dahlia and Iris. Side by Side. A picture like from a children's book. When I first found out about the twins, I had wondered to myself how I could have been stupid enough to not notice that the woman who had testified in court and the woman I had dated for several months before that had been two separate people. But now that I actually saw them together like this for the first time, my own behavior didn't seem so dumb to me anymore. They were really identical. The face the eyes, the stature, the height, even the hair length… They looked like two manufactured dolls of the same model. Only their different hair-colors gave away that they were not the same person, and, thanks to Edgeworth, I now knew that even this was just due to the wonders of modern cosmetics…

My mind found only one way to express my thoughts regarding what I was seeing,

"…Wow."

"Monozygotic Twins," I heard Edgeworth behind me say. "Their DNA is absolutely identical. What sets them apart are their experiences in life… In Dahlia's and Iris' case, those apparently didn't cause the ways they developed physically to diverge too greatly."

"Yeah, "I nodded, "If I didn't know better, I'd say one of them is holding hands with a mirror… It's almost too perfect to be real."

"Hm…'Perfect'?" Edgeworth displayed a kind of knowing smile. "_'Perfection'_ does not exist, Wright. You should know that. They may look almost identical, but look closer."

Edgeworth made a subtle gesture, prompting me to observe the twins a bit longer,

"Look at the ways they move, their manners of speech… It may not be obvious when facing them separately. But side by side, you quickly notice that, while the appearance may be the same, they differ in everything else, no matter how subtly." He went on with his explanations, even when I couldn't help but let my eyes off the girls and look at him instead. "What sets people apart are their actions, their knowledge and their choices, Wright. What makes us who we are is not our face or the way we dress – Those are means of identification. What gives us our identity is the path we choose… And this path is not the same for any two people. Not even them."

"I see," I replied, feeling a bit overrun with being told something as…'deep' as this so suddenly, with little provocation. "But, uhm…. Still, Dahlia and Iris grew up together, didn't they?"

Edgeworth turned his head to look at the twins himself. "Even then, that doesn't mean they were together at every moment of their life, shared every thought, and made all the same decisions."

"True…"

_(What makes us who we are is the path that we take,) _I repeated what Edgeworth had said to myself, while closing my eyes. _(…In that case, 'that man'… is not me at all. Not in the least.)_

I found myself clutching my breast pocket, as I thought this… feeling something tiny and pointing inside piercing through the fabric, into my fingers. I realized what it was and didn't know whether to frown or not as Edgeworth was already speaking to me again,

"Still, Wright… Why?"

I turned back to him, as he continued talking, "Why did you let those two be brought here? You must have had a reason for this…"

"My reason is… Iris," I responded to Edgeworth.

"Iris?" He replied with curiosity. I nodded.

"You said that the reason she had problems channeling were her self esteem issues, right?" I explained. "Well, I thought that maybe having Dahlia here would help her to overcome this to the point she can finally carry the request out, should we really need Lana to exchange a few words with Ema… Also, I know that Dahlia was your… partner…"

I bit my lip a bit when I said that. "And believe me, I know how powerful that woman's smile can be when she wants to. Seeing how I am stuck with Franziska Von Karma and her whip by my side… I thought it would only be fair for you to have a similar 'Force' by yours. It evens out our chances. Fight fire with fire- Or, in this case, whips with smiles."

"I see," Edgeworth replied, seeming to at least somewhat approve of my line of reasoning. "But what has Mia Fey to do with this…?"

"Mia Fey was… let's just say, my personal choice. Firstly, it's only fair for Maya. Secondly… I just felt that she should be here and observe this trial. She…" I found myself looking to the side at this point. "…might notice something that we missed. Something that could help us to turn the situation around…"

"You sound like you were speaking from experience, Wright."

"…"

I stayed silent. I had only realized this just now, but… The 'real' reason I had made Gumshoe bring Mia here as well – even if she wasn't 'my' Mia – was actually a reason to smack myself. A very good one in fact. Here I was, just a few months after that trial, that one trial which should have taught me that I need to finally just trust into my own abilities and not rely on someone else's advice, the one trial that supposedly ended with me finally 'growing up'… And yet again, I was counting on Mia to watch over me and bail me out, should it come worse to worst. It was enough to make me mad at myself.

_(Am I really still that dependant on Mia, after all that's happened? Can I really not take care of this… or __**anything**__ by myself?)_

I felt how my hands balled to fists, maybe because the urge to smack myself was slowly evolving into a desire to _punch _myself…

And Edgeworth seemed to notice.

"…? Wright, are you alright?"

"…

In that moment I made a decision, severing my right fist again and leading the hand into my breast pocket instead.

"…Forget what I said just now," I told him, "Mia Fey is here only for Maya's sake. We… will handle this by ourselves."

When I pulled my hand out of the pocket again, I held a small object between my fingers, which I showed to Edgeworth before me.

"…We have all we need right here. I know it. We just need to put up a good fight… The truth will do the rest… right?"

Edgeworth just looked at the small thing that I was presenting to him.

"…Your badge," he said and I nodded and started pinning the little emblem onto my lapel/

"Yes. Right now, I am a prosecutor. This is my role in this trial. And I'll play it well. I won't hold back anymore from now on," I told him. "I will take this serious and give it my all. I promise."

Edgeworth looked at my face, then a bit down, probably at the badge, which was now pinned to my suit, and then back at me.

"Alright," he said. And his eyes told me… that he trusted me. A good feeling. "I assume the next witness you will call is Maya?"

"Yes, she changed her testimony after all," I replied and nodded. "And I'm sure she'll be less scared to say the truth this time. After all, she has her sister watching now."

"Hey, Nick, are you talking about me?

The sound of a girl hopping over to my side was hard to overhear. Maya grinned and radiated more joy than the sun radiates light at me.

"I thought I heard my name."

I turned towards her. "Maya, you remember what you promised us yesterday?"

"Uhm, promised…?" She seemed to be pondering a bit, before she had her realization. "Oh yes, that's right! I was supposed to… correct my testimony…"

She shivered a bit when she said that. I felt sorry for her, knowing that even the thought of what had happened in court the day before must have been unsettling for her. Still, there wasn't much I could do…

"Maya, don't worry." She had turned her eyes to the floor, yet I still looked at her with all the seriousness I could show, even though she couldn't really see my face. "We won't bring up what could be written in that letter anymore. I promise."

"A…Alright…"

Maya looked up at me again. A slight smile appeared on her face, even though it was obvious she was still far from absolutely relieved.

"I trust you two." She told us.

In this moment, I felt a slight, yet piercing pain in my chest. I remembered what I had done the evening before. _'I trust you' … _Maya trusted me. And yet I had done something I had promised her not to do.

_(…I did no harm,) _I told myself, in order to calm down. _(The letter was absolutely harmless… Just a Pen Friendship. There is nothing about it that could get her into trouble! But…)_

My eyes turned back to Maya, who was now rubbing her hands in slight nervousness.

_(Then why is she so afraid of anybody finding out about this friendship?)_

While I was thinking that, Maya was silent, which was unusual for her. But I knew what she was thinking about, so I understood it… or rather, I knew that I didn't understand. It took her a few seconds to stop playing around with her hands and finally ball them to fists, telling Edgeworth and me.  
"Alright! I'll testify! Bring the cross-examination on, guys, I'm ready! ..." She let her hands down and put them behind her back. "…as long as I don't have to talk about that letter."

I nodded. "Deal."

"Yes. It is good to see you agree….In any case, I will not question you regarding the letter's contents." Edgeworth promised.

Maya just closed her eyes and smiled, a bit more relieved than before. It was then, that I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"The trial will start soon, I guess. The two of you should get ready."

I turned around to face the young woman the voice belonged to,

"Mia…"

She just stood there, crossing her arms and smiling. "I am rather surprised, Mr. Wright. Taking a case in your state... The situation hasn't changed, has it?"

There was a bit of worry in her eyes when she said the last sentence. I shook my head. "No, not really. But… I don't think that will be too much of a problem." I lifted my suitcase an inch, just to get Mia's attention onto it. "I have everything we need here. This isn't about winning or losing after all…"

"Hm…" Mia tilted her head slightly and closed her eyes. "…Lana…"

"…Yes… about her," I realized that Mia might have the answer to a certain question that was still unsolved and decided to ask her. "…You probably know that she confessed to the murder, right? You're her friend… Do you have any idea why she would do that?"

"Well…" Mia opened her eyes again. "It's strange. There is only one reason I could imagine she would do something like this… But the 'reason' isn't there now."

"You mean…Ema?"

A slow nod was the reply I got. Mia's expression seemed tense and puzzled. "The only person Lana would give her life away for like this is her sister. But… Ema is dead. Which completely eliminates this possibility…"

"…You know, I just had an idea, Mia." I thought the situation through once more, before I elaborated on my thoughts to her. "Ema might be gone, yes, but… what if Lana is doing this in order to protect something that was important to Ema?"

Mia brought her hand up to her chin. "Something important to her?"

"The evening she was killed, Ema and I were to meet up so she could give me something. However, she had nothing on her when we discovered the crime scene. And Lana mentioned Ema and me _'working' _on something…"

"…Evidence," Mia spoke out the one word that was on my mind regarding the matter and I nodded.

"Yeah, that is probably what she wanted to give to me… Maya thinks the same about it."

"Still, even so, it doesn't make sense."

"…?"

Mia still seemed to be pondering about the scenario. "Think through the situation carefully, Mr. Wright. If everything happened as you assume, that means Ema had important evidence on her, which she probably worked hard for to get in the end even gave her life for. So, if Lana was really trying to protect her sister's hard work, wouldn't she try to find the true culprit and reclaim the stolen evidence, rather than take the blame? The way she is acting right now, Ema's work on whatever case the two of you might have been investigating into is lost for good."

"…You're right. That doesn't make a lot of sense," I realized.

_(There has to be more behind it,) _I thought to myself. _(Why would Lana be protecting her sister's killer? Why…?)_

The greatest issue with this case was that I still knew little to nothing about the motive of the true culprit. The 'motive'… whatever 'evidence' Ema had found for me must have been important to the killer and that was all I knew. But the only people who knew what Ema had truly wanted to give me that day were Ema and '_the other me'_. Both of which were not available for questioning. Still, there were a few pieces of proof that would wash the guilt off Lana's hands, as soon as she just took back her confession… which was issue number two. Right now, I couldn't do much except to wait for the bailiff to call me and Edgeworth over at the start of the trial and put all my faith into my skills as a lawyer, as well as his. Mia just wished us luck as she, under the watch of Gumshoe, made her way to the gallery. I knew that I would have felt so much safer with her by my side during the trial, but I understood that I had to finally stop acting like a little, insecure boy. I had to stand up and figure this out by myself. And so I stepped forward towards the door of the courtroom, where Franziska Von Karma was already waiting for me, her whip ready, burning contempt gleaming in her eyes.

* * *

**May 3rd, 10:00am  
District Court  
Courtroom No.2**

When the trial started up again, the crowd in the gallery was loud, maybe even louder than normal. I heard Maya's name fall a few times, though, but this didn't even seem to be the main concern… The eyes of most of the audience were on the young woman standing in the Defense's bench. Naturally, it wasn't unusual that Dahlia was at the center of the attention… Listening to the talk of the people in the gallery, however, revealed that the reason was a different from what I thought. Apparently, many here had watched the trial which cost her freedom, meaning they were aware that she shouldn't be here. Others had apparently also noticed Mia and Gumshoe taking place in an isolated place at the far right of the gallery and apparently felt not too well about sharing said gallery with a 'criminal'.

_(I really hope the judge was informed about me allowing them here…) _I thought to myself.

Meanwhile, Franziska Von Karma was standing beside me in her usual pose. She hadn't exchanged a word with me yet. To be honest, I was glad about that. Her whip, to my surprise, didn't rest in her hand. but she had fastened it to the back of her skirt's belt. This struck me as a bit unusual for her, but I didn't say anything. Again: A silent, non-violent Von Karma was a good Von Karma in my eyes. I turned my attention back to the gallery, just to notice the next thing that struck me as odd there. Within the masses of grey-black-brown dressed people of no special recognition value, there was one figure that stuck out like a single, red dot on a white sheet. That was probably because she was, in fact, actually wearing red. A red hat and cape, to be exact. Trucy, the little girl I had met in Kurain the day before, was sitting on a bench much too high for her, letting her legs dangle down like those of a doll, as she shifted around in a way that made her seem quite eager to see what was going to happen now.

_(Huh? What is she doing here…?) _I wondered to myself, as I felt the weird sensation from the two previous days return, which made me slightly dizzy. Somehow, right now, it was even clearer than before to me that I was supposed to know this girl… that she was supposed to trigger memories… Was it because she was dressed differently today? Why was she even wearing something as attention seeking – the people around her, at least, seemed to find it rather attention seeking – as this?

_(Maybe this is her casual wear,)_ I thought to myself. After all, I had met people with weirder 'casual wear' already, so it was not exactly far-fetched. And, to be honest, no matter how unusual it was to see a girl dressed like this in the gallery – such a young girl, too – one had to admit that she really looked adorable in her little, black dress, the white boots and the cape and hat. Almost like taken directly from a picture book.

I kept wondering why she was here. After all, she had nothing to do with this trial. For a second, I wondered if maybe Maya had brought her along, but why would Maya do that? And would the girl's parents have agreed to this? It was a murder trial, after all. I wasn't too sure if I would have agreed. I already felt quite uneasy every time Pearls was watching my trials… Then again, I assumed it was none of my business. I was about to look away and focus on the Judge's chair instead, when I noticed how the girl turned to the right, talking to someone. Naturally, I couldn't hear what she was saying, her voice too far away and drowned out by the talking of many other members of the audience, but she moved as if she was trying to tell the person she was facing that the seat beside her was still empty. Slightly curious, I turned my attention to the right and was surprised to find that she was talking to a teenager in a red school uniform, whose right leg was in bandages.

"…!"_ (…Him?)_

Young Apollo seemed to be more than relieved to have found an empty seat that quickly, as he let himself fall onto it in a rather exhausted manner, just to have Trucy lean over to him and start… poking his hair. Naturally, he immediately pulled back, nervously talking to her, presumably trying to tell her not to do that again.

_(He must have looked me up on the internet, otherwise he wouldn't have known about the trial… Did he come because of what I told him yesterday?)_

"What are you staring at, Phoenix Wright?"

Even Franziska's voice didn't quite manage to draw my attention off the children, but it was enough to prompt me to speak.

"That boy over there… I met him yesterday," I said, more to myself than the woman next to me.

"And? Does he bear any relevance for this case?"

Finally, I turned towards Franziska. I should have known she would ask this if I brought my meeting with Apollo up. Still, I felt no need to drag the boy into this, when he didn't exactly qualify as a witness himself. Plus, I already had all the information I needed.

"No, not really," I replied.

"Then don't foolishly waste your time looking at him like only a foolish fool as you can." She told me, clutching her sleeves… but not whipping me. I was surprised, to say the least. "The judge is coming."

It wasn't two seconds after Franziska had said this, that I heard a familiar voice declaring from above us,

"Court is now in session for the trial of Lana Skye. Are the Defense and Prosecution prepared?"

"The Defense is ready," I heard Edgeworth state from the right side of the room and immediately, I stood up straight myself, looking at the judge.

"The Prosecution…" I touched the unfamiliar badge on my lapel for a short moment. "…is ready as well, You Honor."

_(Let's finish this, once and for all…)_

With a nod, the judge, whose eyes were on me for longer than they had been on Edgeworth – I guess he had been worried that I'd be in the same absentminded shape as the day before – went on in.

"Very well. As you all remember, yesterday's trial brought up several interesting new theories as well as new possibilities. We figured out that the crime scene might have been tampered with and that the victim might have been hit by surprise, rather than during a struggle, as the position of the deadly wound suggests. Likewise, it appears that there were more people present on the twentieth floor than initial investigation made it seem like. Mr. Wright?

The Judge turned towards me. "Do you want to add anything to this?"

"Yes, Your Honor." I nodded. "After thorough investigation, the Prosecution did come to agree with the Defense in the points that the Crime Scene has been tampered with and that the possibility that the victim might have been taken by surprise is rather likely. However,

I leaned forward a bit.

"The Prosecution remains at its standpoint that this is merely the result of the actions of a confused, despaired woman. The additional people entering the twentieth floor, while casting doubt on the only known witness to the crime, do not relieve the defendant of her guilt either, since one fact remains after all: There is only a handful of people who would have been able to access the crime scene. In order to prove this fact, I would like to call a previous witness back to the stand," I explained, standing up straight again. "The Prosecution would like Maya Fey to repeat her testimony to the court."

It didn't take long for the commotion to kick in, as I had expected. It formed within mere seconds. The gossiping people's voices filled the air of the courtroom almost momentarily and there were only few who weren't talking, or were even observing what was happening around them in confusion. The two children – Trucy and Apollo – were in the latter group.

The Judge ended the rambling of the crowd with his gavel.

"In that case…" He spoke. "…we will hear Ms. Fey's testimony once more. Bailiff, please lead her in."

The courtroom's door immediately opened, revealing the figure of Maya, backlit by the daylight from the many windows in the corridor. Without much hesitation or further prompting, she stepped up to the witness stand, her smile seeming a lot more natural this time.

"Hiya again," she grinned and looked up at the Judge. "…Your Honor!"

Maya's mood was… almost _too_ good. There was no reason to wonder why that was, though, as the cause was obviously sitting in the gallery, arms crossed, smiling right down to her younger sister. The judge, however, didn't know this and thus reacted rather dumbfounded to the young witnesses' casual welcome.

"Eh… yes. I see, you seem rather… cheerful today, Ms. Fey?"

"Well, didn't I say that already?" Maya immediately posed, "I am _the Cheerful Voice of the Night's First Star, MA-"_

"This is of no concern." The voice who had interrupted Maya was Franziska. Still no whip-lashing though, much to my amazement. "Will or will you not testify, witness?"

_(I was about to point out that she was still the 'dreamful' voice yesterday, but I guess it'd be better if I don't. For my nerves and lifespan__.__) _I quietly thought to myself, realizing that even when she wasn't inflicting physical pain left and right, Franziska Von Karma could still be quite terrifying. Still, Maya's newfound mood seemed to not only be good, even for her standards, but also as unshakable as its owner's will.

"Does the Steel Samurai use a spear? Sure, I'll testify!

The Judge just blinked, since he, naturally, couldn't make the connection. Maya just grinned on.

"Ready when you are, Nick, Miles!"

I responded to this with a nod.

"Maya, please testify about what you did yesterday between 16:00 and 17:00."

"As good as done!"

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**The fateful afternoon**_

"_I was supposed to go to Sunshine Coliseum, but… There was something I had to do first._

_For that reason I went to Nick's – Mr. Wright's – apartment. That was around 16:30. _

_I was probably the first there. I used the elevator, so it's possible I'm the one my mother saw._

_I was trying hard to not attract attention, so I only looked straight ahead. I don't know if anybody else was there._

_After I did what I had wanted to do, I left again. I met nobody else."_

"Witness…" The Judge seemed ever-so-slightly confused. "This testimony differs completely from what you told us yesterday."

"I know," Maya replied casually. "No sense repeating the same stuff twice, right?"

And then, the morning's first whip crack was heard. A slight shock, not pleasant to my ears, but, fortunately, not directed at anything other than the floor, which made it bearable. Franziska, though, seemed strained.

"Why…" She started. "Why did you keep something as casual as this from us, _Maya Fey?_"

'_Does that mean we went through that entire cross-examination yesterday for nothing?' _– I could clearly see those words on Von Karma's face.

"I was worried…" Maya stated, going into a pondering pose. "Nick's reputation isn't the best at the moment, you know. I kinda wanted to avoid people spreading rumors if they see me doing it…"

"Doing what?" The Judge asked with big eyes.

Now Maya's hesitation returned, if just for a short moment. She finally looked up at him and spoke.

"Delivering the letter."

And once again, the crowd started loudly chatting in a way that gave the courtroom an atmosphere resembling that of an overfilled baseball-stadium. The judge quickly did his best to calm the gallery down, as Edgeworth was already asking her a question,

"So, you admit that the one who brought the letter was you?"

Downright unusuallycalm, Maya nodded.

"Yes. I brought the letter. I'm also the one who wrote it. The truth is, you see… Mr. Wright… Nick… I've known him pretty well for a while. I guess you could call us 'friends'."

"But, witness," It was the judge who had now spoken. His eyes, once again, opened wide. "The envelope the letter was sent in… its color was a bit…"

"Pink?" Maya asked. The Judge just stared, before she laughed and answered. "Yeah, but what's so weird about that? I mean, you can buy colored envelopes in every store nowadays, right? I bought pink ones when I saw them. I thought it'd look less boring than white envelopes!"

Maya was radiating a pure _honesty _when she said that. It was impossible to even start to think that she had _any _idea of the implications that most people would connect to a pink-colored envelope delivered from a girl to a guy… Maybe it was better that way. The judge, however, seemed to be at a loss of words, as if he had just been told that Santa Claus isn't real. Continuing to stare down at Maya, he seemed to be pondering something, as Edgeworth finally spoke again.

"I am afraid I'll have to clear up a slight misunderstanding that seemed to have occurred during this trial. Yesterday I spoke about how the letter might hint at a 'relationship' between Maya Fey and Phoenix Wright. However… I never meant to imply that this relationship might be of romantic nature. I would like to excuse for my unclear way of formulating my theories.

This trial was probably about to win the prize for the loudest gallery with the most gossiping since the abolishment of Mob-trials in the Middle Ages. The Judge didn't even bother to speak anymore in order to silence them, he just banged his gavel until they finally had all fallen silent again.

"In fact, I took the freedom to do some minor research," Edgeworth continued. "I discovered that the color of the letter… Has absolutely no meaning. Maya Fey has a tendency to send letters to her friends in colored envelopes, including the color pink. It holds no relevance to the letter's contents or, more importantly, this case."

"I can confirm that."  
I flinched when I heard the voice. Dahlia. For the first time since the trial had started, she had spoken. Her tone was sweet and calm, like I remembered it.  
"Maya hasn't sent a letter in a white envelope for years," Dahlia explained. "All the letters we get from her when she is on tour are colorful. It is so cute and fits her personality, don't you think?"

And then, she smiled. Oh, that _smile…_ I couldn't help but tremble when I saw it. Which, in turn, caused Franziska next to me to eye me with confusion.

"I…see…" The judge, of course, was enchanted by the young lady next to Edgeworth. Like always. As _planned_. It was good to see that this 'charm' was working for us, instead of against us for once…

Meanwhile, Maya's expression had changed, she now looked rather annoyed. She finally puffed up her cheeks. "Seriously, why are you still talking about that letter? It's not that weird, is it?"

Silence. The first silence in a long while, in fact. Maya could just look to the rows of the gallery, visibly not exactly pleased by the fact that her "Mystery Envelope" was still No. 1 talk in this room, as the people either tried to evade her, eyes, played innocent or bluntly gave her expressions that said, _'Yes. Yes, it is.' _

Even Edgeworth just sighed and had his arms crossed, Dahlia closed her eyes and spun her Parasol, as if to pretend she was preoccupied with her own thoughts, Franziska clenched her sleeves in a belittling manner, and I could just force a – probably not very convincing – smile.

"Hmph…" Maya, looking like an upset little girl, turned her attention to the floor, as if to tell everyone that it was much friendlier than them. "Excuse me, I guess I'll never write a letter again in my life."

_(Or… you could simply use normal envelops, like a normal person?) _I wondered to myself, perhaps forgetting whom we were talking to here.

Maya looked up again. "C-Could we please get on to the Examination-stuff now?"

"I agree." That was me and I felt a few sweat drops on my forehead. How had this mutated into a Talk Show about Maya's taste in mail? "I really, really don't think we have the time to talk about this now, Your Honor..."

"Likewise, the Defense would like to finally proceed to cross-examine the witness," Edgeworth added.

The Judge took one last, long look over the courtroom – Gallery, Defense, Witness Stand, Prosecution, Gallery again, in that order – before finally nodding.

"Very well. The Defense may cross-examine the witness."

I sharpened my ears, ready to find any contradiction Edgeworth might miss.

~-Cross-Examination-~

_I was supposed to go to Sunshine Coliseum, but… There was something I had to do first._

_For that reason I went to Nick's – Mr. Wright's – apartment. That was around 16:30. _

_I probably was the first there. I used the elevator, so it's perfect possible I'm the one my mother saw._

**HOLD IT!**

"You, however, didn't see her. Do I understand this correctly?"

Maya nodded. "Yeah, I didn't see her. Believe me, if I did, I'd have freaked." Maya then went into a pondering pose. "I think I'd have run out of the elevator again and ask her to please not tell anyone that she saw me…"

It was then, that a question came to me. I scratched my chin and raised my voice to ask,

"Regarding the elevator, I'm a bit curious. Your mother said she avoids using them. Do you have any reason for why that could be?"

"Oh…" Maya looked a bit surprised by the question, but not a whole lot. "Well… I guess that'd kinda my fault."

"Your fault?" I asked. _(I think Mrs. Fey even mentioned something like this.)_

Another nod on Maya's part. She explained. "When I was 17, I had a nightmare with an elevator in it once. It was so bad that I ran up to Mom afterwards and whined about it for about an hour…"

"Wait! A… A nightmare involving an elevator?"

I had asked that without really knowing why. It had been somewhat of a reflex. Only after a few seconds had passed and I had the chance to reflect on my own actions, I realized what had caused me to act like this.  
This description. It sounded familiar… Scarily familiar, actually. Could this be a coincidence?

My mind could no longer just respond with 'Yes, just a coincidence' when Maya continued to explain.

"It was a scary dream… The earth shook and the air was so thin, I could barely breathe it." Maya brought her arms close to her body, as if she felt cold and needed to warm up. "There were people and they were fighting and yelling. And then there was this horrible scream… Believe me, once I woke up from that one, I didn't manage to get even a second of sleep more for the rest of the night. It was that frightening."

_(It… can't be…)_

This was impossible. The dream Maya described was identical to another dream I had heard about once. During another case. In this very courthouse… Except that this was in my own 'World'.

"Mr. Wright?" I heard the Judge address me. "Are you alright? You seem a little pale."

"What's the matter?" Edgeworth added, obviously puzzled about my reaction.

I was simply… I guess 'stumped' is the right word. Nervously, I let my eyes wander back and forth between Maya and Edgeworth…

Maya had described a dream. It was a dream I knew about very well. However, for all I knew, the events that triggered this dream never happened in this world. For all I knew, Maya shouldn't even _know _of those events. So how did she know about that dream? How?  
Was it a coincidence? Or… Did Maya really _know_?

"…Nothing…" It cost me some effort to ignore what I had to heard and go on, but I had to. This was something that had nothing to do with the case, no matter how much it puzzled me, so I couldn't waste time questioning Maya further regarding this. Nobody else would have understood why. "In any case, this fits with your mother's testimony…"

"Which in turn means that we have two testimonies which complement the facts, but contradict Ms. Heatherd," Edgeworth added. "In my opinion, this casts some doubt on her."

"Quite a bit of doubt, actually." That came from Dahlia, who stood next to Edgeworth, idly brushing her hair, without stopping to smile, "I don't want to seem mean, Your Honor, but Maya here is really a sweet girl and so much more trustworthy than that other witness… Wouldn't it make sense if Ms. Heatherd had simply been fibbing, because she couldn't remember what actually happened? Young girls like her tend to be forgetful when they are preoccupied with something, you know."

The approving look that the Judge gave Dahlia – and I have to admit, I found it a bit creepy how his eyes followed her brushing hand as he did so – prompted me to comment again myself.

"Ehm…We shouldn't make any assumptions based on age or the fact that Maya's a better person that Lilie Heatherd, Your Honor," I said. "That's got nothing to do with the case. And the first impression can deceive, after all."

I couldn't help but have my eyes on Dahlia when I said that. I sincerely hoped nobody noticed and misinterpreted that.

"Hm…" The judge lowered his head. "Still I am starting to feel inclined to doubt Ms. Heatherd's believability…"

_(You… and the entire courtroom, Your Honor__.__) _I thought, letting my eyes wander through the room. _(Including me and Edgeworth.)_

_I was trying hard to not attract attention, so I only looked straight ahead. I don't know if anybody else was there._

**HOLD IT!**

Edgeworth seemed to have found something he wanted to hear more details about.

"You were trying hard not to attract any attention… How exactly did you try to achieve this?" He asked. "After all, you are quite well known. Your face would have been hard to hide…"

"Oh? That?" Maya took a few moments to remember something, before she smiled and stated. "I didn't need to worry about that. My face was hidden."

Edgeworth crossed his arms. "In this case, how exactly did you hide your face?"

"I wore a bandana," was her reply, before she went on to explain further. "I had it wrapped around my head, you know. Like in those movies with the foreign women with the sunglasses who hand out information incognito…"

"But you didn't wear sunglasses?"

"Nope, I kinda forgot about those," Maya admitted. "Would have been cooler if I did, though."

While Maya still seemed to be picturing how much 'cooler' she would have looked with a pair of sunglasses to go with her headwear that day, I had my own train of thoughts to follow,

_(So, Maya was wearing a Bandana when she delivered the letter… I wonder if that changes anything.) _My eyes wandered over to the other side of the courtroom, _(Edgeworth, at the very least, seems to find it pretty interesting.)_

I knew it because it was obvious from the pondering look on his face.

_After I did what I had wanted to do, I left again. I met nobody else._

_I probably was the first there. I used the elevator, so it's possible I'm the one my mother saw._

**HOLD IT!**

I was surprised. Edgeworth was trying to press the same statement he had previously questioned Maya about once again. Wondering what that could mean, I sharpened my ears.

"Your mother saw you… Yes, we have well established that now, I think." Edgeworth said this with his arms crossed, his pointer finger tapping his arm. "Yet, there is something that strikes me as curious about this…"

"What would that be, Miles?" Maya asked, clearly interested in what Edgeworth was going to say.

He continued. "Well, Maya… You say that you were wearing a Bandana around your head, in order to avoid being recognized. I just wonder… how much did you actually conceal?"

She shrugged and tried to remember. "Well, I'm not that sure anymore… But I think I had it wrapped across my mouth and…Yeah, I also had my hair pinned up and the Bandana was wrapped over that too… Why do you ask?"

The moment Maya had said this, my eyes shot wide open. There was a mistake.

**OBJECTION!**

And before I knew it, my finger was in the air, pointing straight at the witness stand, as it should. Maya had just contradicted a fact. I had no idea why or how… but the contradiction was there and it was time to point it out!

"Maya…" I put my hands down on the desk. "So, you say your hair was covered?"

She was taken off-guard by my sudden Objection and thus needed a few moments to reply. "Hm…? Yeah… Yeah, I think it was…"

"In that case, something is wrong with either your testimony or with your mother's."

"Huh?"

Maya didn't seem to understand, so I explained. "When your mother testified that she saw you, she said that there was only one feature of the person she saw which she could see clearly… And that was her hair!"

"Eh?" Confused, Maya threw her hands in front of her body, staring at me dumbfounded. "But…that would mean…"

"That the person she saw wasn't you, yes." I nodded.

"B-But it had to have been to be me!" Maya disagreed quickly. "I was the only one with black hair around at that time!"

**OBJECTION!**

This came from Franziska, who had been uncharacteristically silent up to this point. She had a confident smile on her lips. "Familiar words, aren't they? If I remember right, it was something like this that witness Lilie Heatherd argued with during yesterday's trial, correct? Of course, she was quickly discredited… By the foolish man in the Defense's Bench across the courtroom."

Maya's cheeks puffed up. "That's not the same at all!"

**HOLD IT!**

And now it was Dahlia's turn. Somehow, there were too many people to keep track of in this courtroom…

"Your Honor, just because Ms. Heatherd was lying when she said this, it doesn't mean Maya is lying too, right?"

She had Puppy Dog Eyes… Gosh, those Puppy Dog Eyes… I could barely even look at them.

"Please, couldn't we just assume that there's another explanation for this? I don't believe she would be lying…"

"Of course I'd not!" Maya shouted. "Why should I? Everything I wanted to keep secret is already out! I swear something's wrong here! This is a-"

_(Say 'conspiracy' and I will face palm__.__) _my mind thought in the short moment it was given to do so. Thankfully, Maya didn't get any further, as Edgeworth hit his desk with one hand to get her attention.

"Maya! Can you remember anything that could explain this contradiction? I would like you to think about this well. It could easily be another detail you forgot!"

"Hm…" Maya's cheeks were still full of air when she crossed her arms and started thinking. "Something I forgot… something I forgot… hm… AHHHH!"

And then, she suddenly bounced up. "Now I remember!"

"Now what?" I asked quickly. It looked like we were about to get some new information again.

"What happened to the Bandana!" She answered. "I wasn't wearing it when I boarded the elevator again."

"You weren't?" Edgeworth asked, looking just as tense as myself. Maya proceeded to shake her head,

"No. It had fallen off by that time…" She led her hand to her mouth. "Yeah, I remember now. That was when I slid the letter in under Nick's door. I bent down to push it through… and suddenly, the knot opened. I guess I hadn't closed it tightly enough. I didn't have the time to put it on again afterwards, so I just picked it up again… Yeah… then I left. With my hair down and the bandana in my bag."

There was a tense silence in the room when she finished. As if everybody was waiting for her to continue. As if everyone had awaited some kind of great revelation, some amazing fact that would turn the entire case around… But she said nothing more.

"That… is all?" I finally asked hesitantly.

Maya nodded. "Yep!"

"…"

An undeniable sense of disappointment swept across the courtroom, even capturing Edgeworth, to my surprise. It looked like he, too, had expected to get more out of this contradiction.

"Now… Mr. Edgeworth…" The Judge looked down on him visibly not too happy with how the cross-examination was progressing,

"What is this new, er… 'information' telling us?"

Edgeworth hesitated to answer, yet his reply was calm when it came.

"Nothing, Your Honor." He admitted. "I had hoped that pursuing this inconsistency would give us some more additional insight into the events of that day… Apparently, I was wrong."

"Obviously," the Judge stated. "Whether or not the witness lost her bandana would barely have any influence on how the murder happened, I assume."

"But at least this means Maya didn't lie, correct?" I could hear Dahlia cast a positive light on the situation.

Von Karma was quick to add her own opinion. "It doesn't matter whether or not Maya Fey lied regarding something as foolishly pointless as a foolish bandana, the fact remains that Miles Edgeworth merely wasted our time by questioning her regarding who Misty Fey could have seen once again! The facts of the case remain the same, regardless of those events: Maya Fey arrived around 16:30, a time at which Ema Skye wasn't even present at the crime scene yet."

"Yes… and she probably left almost immediately after donating the letter in my apartment," I added. "We have Mrs. Fey's testimony to prove that. Ema was set to meet with me at a later point in time. The probability that anything Maya did had any effect on how the murder was carried out is pretty low…"

"Exactly!" Franziska Von Karma took the word from me again. She stretched her whip above her head, "Thus, I demand this waste of my precious time to end now!"

"Hm…" The Judge's eyes were closed. "Yes, it seems like this line of questioning did not further the trial in the least… I would like to ask the witness to continue her testimo-"

"**HOLD IT!"**

This came suddenly and out of the blue. I raised my attention, and so did Von Karma, Dahlia, Edgeworth and the Judge. The person who had interrupted was Maya. Her hands balled into fists, she stood there, determination in her eyes.

"W-Wait!" She shouted once more. "I just remembered something else!"

I listened up and leaned forward. "What? What did you remember this time, Maya?"

"When Ms. Von Karma said that Ema couldn't have been there already at the time…" Maya said. "I… I think there's something wrong with that!"

"Elaborate on this, Maya," Edgeworth told her. "Please."

And Maya did as she was asked.

"When I lost my bandana, I bent down in order to pick it up again, and… That's when I saw it." She bit her lip. "I got a peek through the slit under the door and, inside… someone was moving. And I heard steps too! I mean… I couldn't see who it was… the slit is too narrow for that, but…

Maya stood up straight. "Someone was already there when I brought the letter to Nick's apartment! I'm sure of it."

The crowd turned louder again, but at least this time, there was a legitimate reason. I myself was stumped. Movements at the crime scene… Before Ema would have had any reason to be there. This was more than just relevant to the case. This could possibly change… everything.

It was obvious that Franziska thought the same about it. She was sweating.

It was obvious that Edgeworth also thought the same about it. There was a smirk on his face.

The Judge's gavel finally ended the commotion.

"Order! Order!" When the Gallery finally calmed down, the Judge's eyes were alternately at me and Edgeworth. "What is the meaning of this? Up until now, we assumed that nobody had access to the crime scene until Ms. Skye arrived… However…" His eyes were now on Maya. "If the witness saw someone inside the apartment before the victim arrived… That would mean…"

"It would mean one of two things," Edgeworth started. "Either Ms. Skye arrived sooner at the Scene of the Crime than we assumed she did, or…"

"…Or the person Maya noticed was, again, someone else… _Yet another _unknownwitness… and a possible suspect." I stood up straight behind my desk. "This is what you are trying to say, right, Edgeworth?"

He nodded. "Indeed."

The crowd started chatting, whispering and gossiping once again, and one could downright feel how their trust in Lilie Heatherd's testimony was lost more and more every passing moment. Some still merely skeptic, others were already calling her a liar outright and yet others again badmouthed the prosecution which even permitted her as a witness. I just pretended they weren't talking about me, that made things easier.

Another bang of the Judge's gavel, however, promptly silenced them. The Judge, already seeming fairly annoyed with how things were progressing, announced.

"I think this has gone on long enough. We all know what the next step should be, don't we?"

"Yes. A repeat of Lilie Heatherd's Cross-Examination might be the only way to find the route of this long line if discrepancies," Edgeworth agreed, while the Judge's eyes were already sliding over to my side. "Mr. Wright, how quickly can you bring Ms. Heatherd back to this courtroom?"

_(Finally.)_

"I was prepared for something like this to happen and subpoenaed her to appear before court again today… But she ignored it."

More rambling from the crowd. But can you blame them? I didn't exactly feel good either when I had to admit that this girl didn't even feel the need to respect a subpoena with my – a prosecutor's – signature on it as an order she had to follow.

"She should be in her apartment right now. At least that's where she was when I called her this morning and asked her to stay in case we needed to question her…" _(I hope she had at least that decency…) _"The Prosecution would like to request a forty five minute recess, in order to contact the witness and wait for her to arrive at the courthouse."

The Judge nodded. "Very well. A break of 45 minutes has been granted. The Prosecution and Defense may use that time to discuss their cases as well as the new information amongst themselves. Court is adjourned for now."

And with yet another bang of the Judge's gavel, the first part of the day's trial came to an end, and I hurried into the Lobby, ready to call in the witness that everybody needed to question again, even though nobody _wanted _to…

* * *

_Wheeew… Took me long to upload. The chapter has been finished for a week, actually, but I had a few things to do, so, sorry. ^^;_

_This is the chapter where I decided: Nick is ready for action. And I mean Badge-putting-on YEEEEEEEEAAAAHHHH! action. _

_Also, the Fanfic is now completly up-to-date on CR once more, meaning that THE COURT RECORD WORKS AGAIN, HALLELUYA! Guessing along is encouraged! ^^_

_Alright, I got a good night's sleep now, so my brain is functioning again now and I can finally type an Author's Note that actually makes sense! Yay, me! XD  
_

_So, I spent the rest of the summer cosplaying as Dahlia, Maya and Trucy in alternation, which was great fun, though, my Trucy Cosplay was damaged. Won't go into details, but I'll need to repair it before I next wear it. Also, my Roleplaying group founded a Roleplaying Forum. We call ourselves "Case Files" and specialize on Ace Attorney Roleplaying. We have an advertisement thread in the introduction section of CR dot Net. Check us out, if you're interested!_

_Managing the Roleplaying Forum ate up some of my time, but it also gave me some new inspiration for this fanfic. Expect stuff to happen soon. :-P Though, I am in my third semester on Uni now... I need to study hard, so updates will probably not get as fast again as they were before they got slow. ^^;_

As for this Chapter itself, everything in it has a purpose, so keep what you read in mind. I also suggest you to pay a look at the Newspaper Clipping Nick found (it's in the court record). People tend to say "This and this in your story is Filler", but, truthfully, I don't distinguish between "Filler" and "Main Part" because to me, every part of my Story has a purpose that will tie into the rest later... if I manage to remember it, hopefully. ^^; I usually don't like handing out huge junks of information at once... The dream last chapter was one of the rare exceptions. The hardest part of this chapter was probably balancing out the screen time of the characters. I had to edit the chapter when it was almost done already because I realized that Dahlia and Franziska barely had any screen time, so I rewrote parts of it. That made me feel hypocritical, to be honest... I mean, I complain that there are too many characters on-screen during Rebuttals in GK2, and what do I do? Stuff 6 characters into the Courtroom at once, PLUS having relevant people in the Gallery as well... -_-; Oh, well, I hope at least I managed to make Nick more active and Franzy more passive in this Chapter. I generally wanted Nick to visibly become the dominant one here, one who actually acts rather than just observing. I don't know how well I did with this though. ^^;

_Well, that's it from me for now! Nenilein over and out! ;-)  
_


	26. Breaking Point

**May 3nd, 11:45am  
District Court  
Hallways**

"I can hardly believe it… she actually answered the call… she's actually coming down here…"

I had to support myself by leaning my arm against the wall, since this came so much of a surprise. Heatherd showing _signs of cooperation _was definitely not expected.

"Well, I guess there's only so much she can do before she gets into serious trouble, "Maya assumed with a shrug. She was right. Heatherd, no matter how stubborn and disrespectful she might have been, was still a Defense Attorney and couldn't go too far. Because for us Defense Attorneys, one step too far across the line could be the last we make with our badge pinned to our lapel. I knew that all too well. For some reason, I didn't want to think about it, however. I felt compelled to switch the topic, as quickly as possible. And so I did.

"So…" My eyes turned to Edgeworth. He was standing not too far off from the two of us, alongside Dahlia. "I think we both have the same suspect for the crime in mind, Edgeworth. Right?"

"Hm…" Edgeworth's head only moved into my direction slightly. "As I said before, Wright, we aren't yet at the point to coin new accusations. However, I do find myself to be interested in who you have in mind, though… I think I already know."

"Heatherd." I stated bluntly, seeing no point in making any kind of secret out of my suspicions.

Maya didn't look very surprised, yet slightly caught off guard.

"The doughnut girl, right? But… Is there evidence that makes it look like it was her? I didn't notice anything…"

I smiled, much to Edgeworth's surprise, as he showed.

"Actually… there is a bit of evidence pointing towards her."

"Hm?"

"Edgeworth," I turned towards the man in the red suit, pulling something out from my files. "Here. This is an updates version of the list with the fingerprints on the doorknob we both have."

Slight surprise on his face, Edgeworth accepted the update and took a quick look at it. "You filled the missing name in."

"I figured it through a questioning yesterday afternoon. Turns out Heatherd was covering for the owner of the last set of fingerprints all along. I didn't have the forensics compare the prints yet, but I'm absolutely sure that it's correct."

"Hm…" Edgeworth's eyes were on the list again. "'Sengage'… The name is oddly familiar. There was a case regarding him a few years ago, if I remember correctly…"

He stopped there, his eyes opened wider than before. Something had come to his mind just now, it was easy to see. When he raised his head again, he immediately gave me a look which, unmistakably, asked me: _'Is it what I think it is?' _

And I answered him with a short nod. I had known that Edgeworth, being the perceptive, well-informed person he was, would catch on as soon as he saw the name. A few moments passed, with Edgeworth merely carrying a considering, pondering look on his face, before he began to turn.

"I think I will have to pay the courtroom archives a short visit. If you will excuse me…"

"Not necessary."

In my hands, I held the article I had printed out the morning before, offering it to him.

"Here. I made two copies."

A strict look appeared on Edgeworth's face,

"Wright…"

"Don't go saying I was making it too easy for you," I interrupted him. "This is evidence, and I think it's about time you knew about it. And had we already known about this during the investigations, I am sure this trial wouldn't be happening right now. At the very least not with this defendant. And even if I am a Prosecutor right now…

I kept my hand in the same position as before, waiting for the man before me to take the piece of paper out of my hand,

"I sure don't want to be the kind of Prosecutor who denies the existence of evidence until it's convenient to him."

"Hm…" Edgeworth looked at me, a slight smile of approval forming on his lips. "Fair enough, I suppose."

He finally accepted the article and immediately started skimming over it. It wouldn't take him long to finish, as he had always been a quick reader, yet he started talking to me again as he was only halfway through, not leaving his eyes of the sheet of paper,

"Though I am wondering how this fits with the remaining information we have. Didn't you say Ms. Heatherd herself was your prime suspect?"

"It'll make sense," I assured him. "We'll figure out how it makes sense. And once we figured out that… The rest will come by itself."

Edgeworth looked up from the paper. "How very much like you."

He sounded somewhat satisfied when he said this, maybe because he saw my mindset as proof that I was really 'Phoenix Wright', which, at least to him, meant 'that' Phoenix Wright – the one he knew – was not beyond salvation in terms of moral standards. All I could do was return him a shrug. What else should I have done? Even if I had wanted to discourage him – which I, for the record, couldn't have brought myself to do anyway – he wouldn't have believed me. And so, trying to argue this point would have made little to no sense. I let it be.

It was weird how used I had gotten to this by now. Being considered a prosecutor by most people and being considered an amnesiac prosecutor with delusions by Edgeworth. The only one to whom I was 'me', the only one who knew and understood who I really was, at least to a degree, was Maya. And I was surely glad I had told her. Her knowing gave me confidence that it was true. It was like a 'reminder' of sorts, so I wouldn't forget. Because, no matter how odd it might sound, from time to time just 'forgetting' that I wasn't who or what Edgeworth believed me to be seemed a surprisingly tempting thought.

Speaking of Edgeworth, his eyes were once again focused on the article,

"…I think even with this, it would be better to do a bit of research on the case myself. It is a better way of spending this break than simply wasting it with idle chitchat. Dahlia?

He looked up at the young woman. "Will you be allowed to accompany me?"

With a nod, Dahlia presented her right arm, showing a kind of metallic bracelet on it. A red LED lamp was flashing on it,

"They gave me this, in order to make sure I don't leave the building. The Detective said that I can move anywhere else I want on my own accord though."

Edgeworth confirmed to have understood by nodding himself,

"In that case, I'd like to ask you to come to the Courthouse Library now. Finding the case files will be easier with help."

"Alright, I'm coming."

Dahlia moved to Edgeworth's side as soon as he started walking away from our small group.

"I will see you in the courtroom after the break, Wright," he said, leaving for the staircase with Dahlia. Maya and I stayed behind.

No more than ten seconds had passed when Maya addressed me.

"Hey, Nick?" she started. "You know, I think you were really doing well out there, given that was just your second time."

"Might be because I was actually somewhat trying this time around," I replied, leaning against the wall. "Yesterday was just horrible. I had absolutely no idea what to do. But I think I might be getting the hang of it… Still, good that it's almost over. The idea of actually getting _good _at prosecuting before Lana is acquitted… I don't like it. Not at all."

"Well," Maya leaned against the wall next to me. I didn't need to see her face in order to know she was grinning. "I guess you'll need to pay attention to get the right culprit during the initial investigations next time, so you can see how well you'd do when you're actually trying to win! Heh…"

"Maya…

It was only due to the tone in my voice that Maya realized what she had said. I was looking at her by that point, so I could see how her face fell. She knew she had said something she should have kept to herself. And I knew why that thought was going through her head in the first place.

"Maya," I tried to sound as calm and comforting as possible. "I won't be here forever, you know. The other 'Phoenix'… 'Your Nick' will be back sooner or later. So… don't get that used to me."

Maya's head had sunk. She was now staring at the tiles of the floor, her fringe obscuring her eyes completely.

"Maybe it'd be better if he didn't come back," Maya then admitted.

"Don't say that," I told her. "I mean… the two of you are friends, right? No matter what he's done… There's probably some kind of reason for it. Actually, I'm getting more and more sure of that…"

I was partly lying. My opinion of that "other Phoenix" was, like before, still not exactly high. I doubted that he was a person I would enjoy meeting and dreaded the moment I would have to fix his mess once I returned back home. But if he was Maya's friend, like I could read out of that one letter I hadn't been able to resist opening… Then there seriously couldn't be _all _hope lost for the guy. Maybe, just maybe, all he needed was a push in the right direction. Maybe someone just had to come and drag him away from 'his path' and a bit closer to 'my path'…

"I'm sure you'll be able to patch things up, no matter what happened." I continued telling Maya. "After all… you still believe in him, right? If you didn't you wouldn't have said the things you said when we met down at the river."

I smiled at Maya. "If you still believe in him, I'm sure that everything can still turn out alright."

Maya stayed silent, remaining in the same position she had been in before I has started talking. It took her some time to formulate a reply.

"It's not that much about what he's done," she whispered. "But… what I've done…"

"What you've done?" Something told me that she wasn't talking about her behavior before her heartfelt apology to me… at least not entirely. I turned. "Maya, what do you mean?"

Instead of the sound of Maya's voice replying, I was greeted by the rattling of chains. The Psyche Locks were back again.

_(Argh… Maya…)_

I suddenly felt the weight of the Magatama in my pocket, as if it wanted me to take it and use it on Maya. It was tempting. Maya knew something and this 'something' could possibly have been important after all. To my situation, or to the case. Or to both. But I couldn't. I couldn't just try to crack her open, for two reasons. One being that I didn't even have anything I could have revealed her secret with. And the other…

"I'm sorry… but you're not him," she said. "There are things I shouldn't tell anyone but him… So I won't. Excuse me."

There was something desperate to Maya's voice when she said this. This despair to keep her secret protected… Made me decide that it couldn't be worth it. Maya had already gone through enough the past days. I would have been a lousy friend, had I now tried to interrogate her like a criminal, especially seeing how it wasn't really all that urgent. So I let her be.

"Anyway…" Maya's tone had changed again. All of a sudden. "…What 'cha gonna do now, Nick?

When I turned my head to face Maya, she was grinning at me. I didn't know whether to feel relieved by that or not. On the one hand, I liked Maya smiling better than her being sad. On the other, I didn't want her to just shove all her worried aside, instead of talking about them. But there wasn't much I could have done about that now, was there?

"I mean, we've got half an hour of break left now and Miles and Dahlia have gone to do research, right? Isn't there anything we could do to pass the time?"

"Well," I pondered to myself a bit. "We could try to make sense of what really happened at the apartment building the day… Reconstruct the timeline, you know?"

"Hm, reconstruct the timeline?" Maya, too, tried to think about it, before she went on. "Well, Mom was first at the building, right? That was around half past four."

"Right. And then, a few minutes later, you arrived."

"Yeah, but I was quicker than Mom, because she used the stairs. That's also how we missed each other. The Doughnut Girl, however, claims that neither of us was there… But the letter proves that I _was_ there."

I nodded. "Which is why her testimony is in doubt now."

"Mom met Ms. Skye when she entered the building, so she came after both, me and Mom had left."

"Right. And then, around five o'clock, Ema came up… and was killed," I concluded. "Meaning that the only people who should have been present in the apartment at the time were Lana and Ema, but…"

"But I saw something moving in the apartment, so someone was already there before either Mom or me arrived."

"Another person that doesn't exist if we believe what Heatherd said…"

I tried to picture everything that happened in my head, though having some kind of chart would certainly have helped. The additional person Maya mentioned troubled me a bit.

"… Do you think it was Ema?"

"Hm?" Maya looked at me with inquisitive eyes.

"The person you noticed. Do you think Ema could have come earlier?"

"Well," Maya supported her head with her hand, pondering. "I just wonder why she'd do that. What would the point have been?"

"Exactly. There wouldn't have been one," I was more talking to myself than Maya now. "Ema would have had no reason to come sooner than I asked her to. Which leaves us with one other possibility: That the person you noticed wasn't Ema."

"But… who else could it have been?" Maya wondered, "I mean, there's not that many people with a keycard…"

"Well…"

I would have explained my suspicions to Maya, but we were interrupted. We had been alone in the Hallway up to that point, but now voices attracted our attention.

"Remember, Vanilla is my favorite!"

"Yeah, you said that before... Wait, just a sec, I'm just getting my wallet out…"

"I want three packs!"

"T-Three?"

Maya and I both turned our heads when we heard the voices on the other side of the hallway. It came from the wall with the vending machines. There were two people standing by one of the machines, one of them holding a brown leather wallet, some sweat pearls shining on his face. The young girl with him, however, didn't seem to mind his slight distress too much and kept on smiling merrily with the radiance of a hundred suns.

It was Apollo and Trucy.

"What do you need three packs of Vanilla Milk for?" The poor boy was staring at his wallet in despair. For some reason, however, it didn't seem like he was just going to tell her 'No' anytime soon.

Trucy started justifying herself,

"Well, I want to make sure that it's really enough! You never know… My thirst could be greater than I think it is!"

I heard Maya giggle from my side.

"Hey, looks like Trucy found herself a friend," she said. "Isn't she just adorable, Nick?"

Still watching the kids, I nodded.

"Yeah…" _(And slightly greedy…)_

I felt sorry for Apollo, just looking at how the small magician used those irresistible puppy dog eyes of hers to get him to pay her snacks.

"That reminds me, Nick. I haven't eaten since breakfast." Maya has a wide grin on her face. " Come on, let's go get me something. You don't want me to pass out from hunger, do you?"

The reason for my sympathy should be obvious, I guess.

"All the vending machines in the world couldn't stop your hunger," I told Maya, as she was still grinning at me. "Say, I just wondered…"

"Yes?" Maya was looking at me, ready for my question. So I proceeded,

"Why is she here anyway? Trucy, I mean. I was pretty surprised when I saw her up in the gallery..."

"Oh, her Uncle was busy setting up for the next scene, so we took her along," Maya explained. "With Mom, Iris and me all gone, there'd have been nobody to watch her otherwise."

"Nobody to watch her?" My eyes opened wide. The implications of what Maya said sounded slightly… unsettling. "What do you mean? What about her parents?"

- And there it was again.

The moment I thought the question, it had started and as soon as I asked it out loud, I could feel it clearly, the piercing sensation in my head as if someone stabbed a needle right into it. My hand was at my forehead right away, but I could keep myself from making any kind of sound. Meanwhile, Maya had lowered her head. I found my suspicion reaffirmed by that before she even replied,

"Looks like her mother died already a few years back. As for her father…"

"_He ran away_."

Maya's eyes bolted over to me. I was still in the same position as seconds before, but only now she noticed. And it was getting worse. I didn't know why I had said that. I didn't know where it had come from. But I had suddenly just known how to… end Maya's sentence.

"Nick…?" Maya seemed worried. No wonder, given what she saw. "Are you alright? How did you know that?"

"I don't know," I replied, my hand still on my head. "I don't know why I know this… But…"

I halted, Maya's worried, almost shocked eyes on me. I couldn't go on. I felt as if I was standing in front of a door and something was knocking from the other side, attempting to get out, but I couldn't open the door, no matter how hard I tried, all I got were the muted sounds of whatever was trying to break through, punching against the blockade. My legs shook and the same feeling of faintness that I had already felt two days ago at the concert was starting to overcome me again.

'_Something went wrong.' _were the words that I wanted to end my sentence with. '_Her father ran away, because something went wrong'. _But… more details just wouldn't come to me. I knew that there was more to this 'something' than I could recall. But no matter how much I tried, the 'something' kept eluding me.

I could see them again. These locks. But they were shaking. They were close… so close to finally cracking down… just a bit…

"Yes… Yes, you're right, he did run away…!" Maya repeated. Her voice was too distant for me to make out the emotion in it though. "Nick? Nick, what's wrong? Come on, snap out of it!"

It was only then, when Maya put her hand to my shoulder that her call finally got through to me. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I-I'm alright," I said. Or, rather, lied. I was _not _alright. I knew that now more than ever.

"I was worried," I heard Maya tell me. "I thought you were going to pass out at any second."

A sigh was all I could produce at the moment. Yet another blackout on my part, caused by these White Psyche Locks. If I didn't solve their mystery soon, I was definitely going to the asylum sooner or later. Most of all, however, I kept worrying the people around me with those fits, so this had to stop.

"I'm sorry. This just… keeps happening lately. I have no idea why, but…"

"It's alright," Maya quickly stated, crossing her legs, as she still leaned against the wall. She smiled cheekily.

"It's not every day you end up in a parallel dimension, after all! I bet your memory does not like all the stuff that is suddenly different, right? No wonder your brain's strained!"

"Eh… r-right…

Maya was looking so abnormally happy and cheerful when she said that, combined with how casually she spoke about things like alternate universes and the likes, it was almost creepy. The fact that what she said wasn't even too far off the truth didn't exactly make it better… Though, it wasn't like I even knew the exact 'truth' myself. However, I was getting closer, I felt it. My eyes rested on the little girl on the other side of the hallway,

"So… her father ran away," I repeated. "When was that?"

"Uhm, not too long ago," Maya replied, turning her head as well. She seemed curious about why I was so interested in that girl's story, but she still didn't outright question it, just telling me what I wanted to know straight out.

"It happened in late April. The movie was in the middle of being shot then," she explained. "Her Grandfather died. Someone had shot him. Her father was the prime suspect."

"So there was a trial…" I concluded, feeling the dizziness return again already, like I was smacking my head against a door. This was when I realized… This was my chance. After all, this case obviously was part of whatever I was blocking out and Maya seemed to _know _about it. Maybe I could lead her into breaking the locks for me? She was far more likely to have 'evidence' to accomplish this than me, after all. Taking a deep breath, I started to try suppressing and ignoring the dizzy feeling that had captured me again, without stopping the thoughts that seemed to cause it. I just put my hand to my forehead and trying to somewhat stay in reality alongside Maya, so I could listen to what she said, while still keeping the locks before my mental eye.

Like this, I went on to ask Maya,

"…There was a trial and Trucy's father was the Defendant, right?"

"Yes, exactly. That's what happened."

"Right… Her name is Trucy… And her father's name is… Shadi. So it was the trial of…"

"Nick…?" I heard Maya ask again, worry in her voice. She probably looked worried too, but I couldn't tell. I had my eyes closed. But I could hear her and I understood what was going on around me, not drifting off into trance or blacking out again. That was all I needed.

My left hand was in my left pocket, enclosing the Magatama,

"…The trial of Shadi Enigmar," I finally finished my sentence.

My eyes snapped open when I did. Just that moment, I had heard something, a rather familiar sound. It had been the noise of a breaking Psyche Lock, no doubt. And incredibly close by too.

_A broken Psyche Lock…_

I took a deep breath, feeling how the cool air went through my body. It felt as if a huge burden had just fallen off me, and I knew why. I had broken one of the Psyche Locks. One of the white locks was _down_.

Finally. I hadn't felt that relieved in a long while now.

"It was the trial of Shadi Enigmar, Trucy Enigmar's father. But he's better known under the alias 'Zak Gramarye'. He's a member of Troupe Gramarye, whose stage magic is world famous," I finally managed to go on. Suddenly, the words just came to me. Suddenly, it was all so _easy. _It just felt good to be able to recount this all to myself without the blockades going into place again and suffocating every thought I want to start, so I didn't really care if Maya was listening or not. I just spoke. "In the end of April, Magnify Gramarye, founder of the troupe, was murdered. Since he was going to die soon due to his condition anyway, the list of people with a motive to kill him was pretty short and Mr. Enigmar was the prime suspect. He hired an Attorney, but—"

And there it was again. The blockades were back. Well, it had been fun while lasted.

"…but something went wrong. Something just didn't quite work out as he had hoped it to," I went on in a slower pace than before with the few words I could still find, before I was brutally shoved out the door I had just managed to open. "He lost the trial… But, before he could be declared guilty, he ran away, fleeing the courthouse, leaving behind his daughter…

I finally gave up trying to find more. I took another breath, opened my eyes and turned to Maya.

"Is that about right?"

Maya looked rather baffled. Her mouth opened a bit, she nodded her head slightly, her eyes seeming amazed and puzzled at the same time.

"Nick…How did you…?"

"I think the same thing happened where I came from," I told her, massaging my hurting head a bit with my right hand. "…Except, now that I think about it, I can't remember the last week of April very well for some reason, so the details are foggy…"

"What? So you really _do _have some amnesia after all? I didn't know that!"

"It's just a few days… I didn't think it was that important…"

But, apparently, it was important. My lack of memories of the last few days of the previous month had never been as obvious to me as it was right now. And apparently, this was, in fact, just what those mysterious, white Psyche Locks were trying to keep from me, as I realized just now. I finally began to understand that the reason for the gap in my memory was probably very specific… and probably also tied to the deeper secret those locks were still hiding. There was no doubt about it. I had been tied to the Enigmar trial somehow…A trial that the Defense had lost.

I didn't like where this was going.

But this wasn't the time to falter and reconsider if I should try to get to the bottom of this or not. Fact was that I most likely had to break my Psyche Locks if I ever wanted to get back home. Researching this case would be a good point to start with this, at the very least.

"Who was the Defense Attorney in that trial?" I finally asked Maya. If there was one person, who could give me more information about this case, it was the lawyer who investigated into it.

"Uhm… there were two, actually," Maya replied.

I listened up. "Two?"

"Well, three actually, if I think about it," Maya went on to confuse me even further, looking not too sure of what she was saying herself. "It's… complicated. From what I gathered, Mr. Enigmar had a first lawyer, whom he fired, and then he hired Diego, my Sis's boyfriend…"

_Armando…_ My face sunk into my palm. Of all the people that I _couldn't _possibly ask, it had to be him. Seeing how Maya didn't seem to know the name of Lawyer No.1 either and I wasn't too keen on being bequeathed a mug to the head by Armando, Lawyer No.3 seemed my only remaining option. I listened as Maya went on,

"But Diego quit, just a few minutes before the trial, refusing to defend Mr. Enigmar, so they quickly appointed a third lawyer."

_(Hm… Armando quit?) _I wondered to myself. _(That's weird… He's not usually the type to just give up without a fight. I wonder what happened…)_

"Do you know who that third lawyer was, Maya?" I finally asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, kinda. It was a friend of Miles, who used to work with him. I know that because he told me after the trial… I didn't quite catch his name though. I'm sorry."

A friend of Edgeworth, whom he used to work with… That helped. It meant that he worked either at Edgeworth's or Edgeworth's father's law office at some point. This should make finding this person a lot easier.

"Don't worry about it, you said all I need to know," I shook my head at Maya. "Thanks for telling me all of this."

"You're welcome, Nick." Maya smiled.

"There's one last question I have, though…

My eyes wandered over to the two children, who were now sitting on a bench in the hallway, enjoying their treats. They looked almost like brother and sister like this, which was actually rather cute… and ironic, considering I knew now that neither of them had any family left. My eyes rested on Trucy especially.

"What's going to happen to her now?" I asked. "After all, she's lost both of her parents, right? Where's she living right now anyway?"

"She's staying at Kurain alongside her Uncle for the shooting of the movie, since she refused to quit, despite what happened," Maya explained to me. It was obvious that she'd rather have seen the girl take a time out after the trial and I really agreed with her on that. "But you know, us entertainers and our 'The show must go on' mentality."

_(Hm… That Trucy must be pretty strong for her age, if she can just go on like nothing had happened,) _I thought to myself. _(Still. Poor girl. I can't even begin to imagine what she must be going through.)_

I felt reminded of Pearl again, who was roughly the same age as this girl and had been going through a similar situation the past few years. I wondered if maybe all young girls had this kind of inner strength and I just didn't realize, because Pearl was the only young child I ever had a lot of contact with since my own childhood. Or maybe it was just a coincidence that these two girls' ways of dealing with this situation seemed so alike.

"For the time being, we take turns watching after her. Diego's helping too, whenever he has time. However, her Uncle committed perjury in that trial and it looks like he altered the crime scene too, so after we're done with the shooting of the movie, he'll have to spend some time in detention for that."

"He altered the crime scene…? That means he'll be gone for quite a while," I concluded.

Maya nodded. "Yeah, we're lucky that the studios managed to convince the court to wait with executing his sentence 'til we finished this, otherwise we'd be in huge trouble. Still, nobody knows where Trucy will go after that… There doesn't seem to be anywhere she could stay. And, now that I think about it, her Uncle doesn't seem too keen on keeping her around forever either anyway, for some reason, so he might not take her back after he's released. In the worst case, she might end up in the local orphanage, I guess…"

My eyes were immediately at young Apollo when Maya said this. The orphanage. He had described it as a place that wasn't as bad as one might believe. Still, was this really where this young girl should go? I didn't really know what to think of this. It was true that Apollo didn't seem too bothered with this situation, but, then again, the boy had apparently never even known his parents. Trucy, on the other hand, had always had her father by her side, up until recently. A great change like suddenly living in a home might be a bit much for her, especially after just having lost him. At least, that's how I saw it. She was still very young, after all. I thought maybe there was a way for me to help that girl somehow, but I couldn't come up with anything…

As usual, it was Maya's voice that interrupted me in my thoughts.

"Ah! Sis! Iris! Over here!"

I turned my head to see that Mia was walking down the hallway, accompanied by a smiling Iris. Just when I had taken notice of them, Maya had already bounced off the wall and started to skip over to them.

"Hello again, Maya." Mia smiled, then her glance wandered over to me. "Hello again to you as well, Mr. Wright."

"Ah… Yeah, hello, Mi… Miss Fey." After correcting my slip-up, it was time to turn my attention to the other woman who had joined us. "Hello, Iris…"

Iris immediately blushed when I addressed her, but a happy, honest smile remained on her face.

"Hello…Feenie.

I couldn't help but blush myself when she used the nickname, in fact I was probably blushing ten times worse than her.

"I wanted to thank you… For bringing Dahlia here. It was really nice to see her again without… a pane of glass between us."

"Ehm… Yes. I can imagine…"

This was probably the most insensitive thing to say, given the situation. But it was the only thing I could come up with. Still, now that I actually had said it, I knew that it would probably have been better to just keep my mouth shut. I probably deserved a smack for this one, right? Iris didn't seem to mind though, well, at the very least she didn't show it. Her smile and blush remained on her face, when she looked to the side,

"…I am so glad..."

A confused look, accompanied by a slight tilt of my head was all this got out of me. I didn't really know what she meant by this, as she didn't seem to be talking about Dahlia anymore either. There was a slight suspicion, but not much more. She didn't go on to say anything else either.

It was Mia who kept the scene from falling silent then,

"Talking about Dahlia, I don't see her or Mr. Edgeworth anywhere…"

"They're down in the archives," I explained.

Mia brought her hand to her chin. "The archives?"

I nodded. "They went to look something up ,"

"No surprise here," Maya threw in. "Miles always investigates everything to death before drawing any conclusions."

"It's unusual for him to only research something after the start of the trial though," Mia noted, only to have me explain the situation.

"That's because he didn't know about it until a few minutes ago. It's some information I mentioned to him just now."

Mia seemed slightly surprised.

"You mentioned it to him?"

"I found it more or less by coincidence myself. I thought Edgeworth should probably know as well. When I told him, he went to look up details right away."

"Oh… I see," Mia smiled, understanding. "You are still not planning on winning that trial then, I guess."

I shook my head. "Not when that means possibly getting an innocent woman a life sentence, no."

"Hm… Yes, I think I see that now," Mia replied, closing her eyes. The calm smile on her lips was downright comforting to me, given how familiar it was. She crossed her arms, taking a short breath, before she went on. "You really surprised me in there, Mr. Wright. I saw some things today that I really didn't expect."

And the tone in her voice told me that she meant this in the most positive sense.

"Mia…"

"Because of this," she said and her eyes opened, her expression going somewhat more serious. "I think I might be starting to believe you. The things you told me two days ago, I mean."

"R…Really?"

Mia smiled, nodding her head. "Really."

I looked at Mia in silence but felt my heart slightly jump when she said that. She didn't think I was crazy anymore. She _believed _it.

"There's… a question I'd like to ask you," Mia then went on, stepping towards me as she spoke. Maya and Iris had meanwhile engaged in a conversation on their own, so they weren't really paying attention to what Mia told me now. She seemed to be rather glad about this, as she now spoke slightly more quiet than before, as to probably not attract their attention too much,

"The other Mia you mentioned," she started her question. "I wondered if you could tell me a bit about her. Just a few details… especially differences between her and me. That would be really helpful."

A big question mark probably appeared on my face as she asked this. 'Helpful'? How exactly was telling Mia about an alternate version of herself which only existed in a timeline that she was never going to see supposed to be any bit helpful to her? Still, I decided to just go along and started to explain,

"Actually, there aren't that many differences between you and her. Aside from her being a Defense Attorney, of course. She looks the same, talks the same, her personality is pretty much the same too…"

I left the entire part about 'my Mia' being dead out on purpose once again. I just didn't find it necessary to explain something as unsettling as this to her.

"I see," Mia replied calmly when she saw where this was going. "Alright, this is going to make things easy then… Thank you."

Another clueless look on my face. Mia seemed to be speaking in riddles and even though this wasn't an entirely new situation for me, it still was a confusing one. Nevertheless, Mia's smile remained in place, thankfully and obviously with a kind of idea hiding behind it. I could just wonder what it might be.

It was still weird to know that Mia was here, right in front of me, and yet she still wasn't. It was a strange feeling to know that this Mia in front of me wasn't the brilliant Defense Attorney I had known. But in the end, it didn't matter. It didn't matter, because I didn't need that brilliant Defense Attorney right now. I could do this by myself, without any guidance, without her hints and clues.

The rest of the recess consisted of Maya and me talking over her testimony again, until she finally had persuaded me into buying her some chocolate milk from the vending machines. I went on to buy Mia and Iris some as well, and we then feasted on treats altogether until Edgeworth and Dahlia reappeared from the archives. Lilie Heatherd arrived at the courthouse not even fifteen minutes later and I knew I was ready. I knew that this trial would end today. No doubt about it.

**May 3nd, 12:15pm  
District Court  
Courtroom No. 2**

Franziska was still giving me the silent treatment. I can't believe I am saying this, but this was starting to unsettle me. My eyes were on her for quite a while as the trial was about to start again. I was waiting for the moment she would snap at me with an unfriendly remark again and pull out her whip, but that moment never came. Edgeworth, meanwhile, had already taken place in his bench. To my surprise, I couldn't see Dahlia anywhere, however. I also found Edgeworth reading a bundle of paper, much thicker than the article I had handed him, his eyes looking… worried. Almost as if what he was reading there was everything but good… What had he found? And where had Dahlia gone?

The judge's gavel ended the recess,

"Court will now reconvene. I trust the witness is ready?"

I nodded. "Yes, Your Honor. Miss Heatherd is here and ready to testify to us again."

"Very well. Let us hear what she has to say then."

No more than two minutes passed when the doors to the courtroom opened, the short figure of Lilie Heatherd stomped in through it, arms crossed, eyes at the witness stand she was walking up to – not, however, at the judge or either attorney – and she told us exactly just what she had to say,

"_Why am I here?_" she hissed up at the Judge with a poisonous tone in her voice, which resembled that of someone who has just been called out of the bathroom in order to answer the phone.

It wasn't the judge, but Edgeworth who replied, one hand on the desk,

"To tell us the truth, Ms. Heatherd. The _whole _truth."

I too, had my hands on my desk. Both of them.

"And should there be any gaps in your memory this time around, don't worry. I think we have enough 'reminders' by now to fill them."

Heatherd then went on to shoot both Edgeworth and me a glare. However, the one she shot me was notably longer for some reason.

Finally, she seemed to somewhat regain her 'cool'. She proceeded to play with her hair, lean back ever so slightly, stare at the ceiling, and say,

"You know what I hate? People who can't take a 'No' for an answer. They are annoying me to death, because they are uselessly wasting time that could be well used for other stuff.

She went on to look up to where the judge sat.

"I mean, seriously! The court already heard my testimony! Isn't that enough? In the time you are dancing around the point of finally declaring that murderer guilty, there could have been a dozen other trials in this courtroom…"

"And in the time _you _spend trying to justify your lack of will to testify to this court, we could have made all the progress that is needed to finally, truly solve this case!" Edgeworth interrupted her, while hitting the desk with his hand.

Heatherd immediately made an attempt to turn Edgeworth's reaction against him, by addressing the judge.

"Your Honor, the Defense is-"

"-Speaking just my mind," I stated before she could even finish her sentence, my eyes focused on the witness before me. "Ms. Heatherd, I called you here in order to testify, not to explain to us how to conduct trials. I want you to do exactly what you are here for. Now."

I swear, I heard the angels sing their hallelujah when this happened – the judge, too, agreed with us.

"Witness, I frankly believe that at this point _nobody _here has any patience whatsoever left for your antics," he stated, a strict look on his face. "You will listen to what the Prosecution told you just now, or otherwise, there will be sanctions."

Oh, yes. The Judge had just told a witness to listen to me. Why did this feel so incredibly awesome? Whatever the deeper reason was, it was at least enough to make me stand up straight, my hands at my hips, and smile my probably most confident smile in the past three days.

Heatherd most definitely did not share my good mood, however. Seeming like she was searching for some unfriendly remark to counter us with, before remembering that the judge would probably not approve very much of this, she finally crossed her arms once again, a fire of anger burning in her eyes.

"You want to go over the same stuff all over again?" She went on to stuff her hand into her pocket and pull out a pack of something that looked like chocolate covered bread sticks, which she opened in a 'threatening' way, as if she was trying to mime the movements of drawing a weapon. "Fine! Have it your way!"

She shoved a chocolate stick into her mouth and proceeded to testify.

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**What I 'witnessed'**_

"_Again, I 'saw' nothing._

_But I can tell you that the victim, the defendant, and I were the only ones to go anywhere near the 20th floor yesterday afternoon. _

_The victim showed up first. That was between half past four and quarter to five. The defendant followed soon after._

_And then, somewhere around five, maybe even sooner, I heard screams. Then I called the police. That's all."_

'Stubborn' didn't even come close to describe the expression on Heatherd's face. Same went for her actions.

There was a deep silence in the courtroom once she had stopped talking, only broken when the Judge felt the need to state what everybody else was merely thinking,

"Witness… Isn't that the exact same testimony you gave yesterday?"

"Well, you wanted a repeat. I gave you one," she said, having gone to spinning her hair on her finger once again, as she was still gnawing on her choco-stick, "Any problems with that?"

Edgeworth shrugged and sighed.

"As childish as it may be, no, I don't necessarily see a problem with it, after all… it is all I need."

He had his pointing finger at his forehead when he said this.

_(I just wonder how she managed to remember all of that,) _was my sole reaction, and even that I kept to myself. Arguing about something like this with Heatherd really wasn't necessary now. All that mattered now was the cross-examination. This time, after all… there was more evidence.

~-Cross Examination-~

"_Again, I 'saw' nothing._

_But I can tell you that the victim, the defendant, and I were the only ones to go anywhere near the 20th floor yesterday afternoon. _

_The victim showed up first. That was between half past four and quarter to five. The defendant followed soon after._

**HOLD IT!**

"Yes, I remember these same claims from yesterday… I was wondering, could you maybe elaborate closer on what you saw when the Defendant entered the apartment?" Edgeworth asked, pressing her on one of the most crucial moments of the crime's entire timeline. I knew that this was probably a smart thing to do. If we were able to find a contradiction in this moment, Heatherd's testimony, for all it was worth, would lose its last bit of believability.

"I saw… the Defendant, of course," Heatherd answered shortly, drawing another chocolate stick from her box and eating it.

_(I doubt this was what Edgeworth wanted to hear…) _was my mental note on this.

Edgeworth proceeded to sigh and become more direct.

"Miss Heatherd. I want you to describe to the court now every detail about Miss Skye that you noticed when you saw her enter the Apartment."

"Geez. You really love dancing around on the same points over and over again, don't you?" Heatherd stuffed two sticks at once in her mouth and gnawed them down faster than should be humanly possible, "Well, OK, once again for you then: I saw Lana Skye. She was alone, it was her, she wore the same clothes she wears today and there was absolutely nothing else interesting about her! Nothing. She had nothing on her, except for her keycard, and that one she got out of her pocket."

Edgeworth smirked. It was that moment that I knew: Heatherd had said exactly what he had wanted her to say. She was done for. He would take her apart now… with evidence. I watched and listened intently, as he shrugged and stated,

"So, she had nothing on her? Hm, interesting…"

"Mr. Edgeworth," I could hear the Judge's voice coming down from his seat. "Is there something wrong with this statement?"

Edgeworth nodded. "Indeed. Very wrong, in fact." He then leaned forward, and put one hand on the desk. "The witness' testimony stands in conflict to not one, but three pieces of evidence, Your Honor! For example…"

And Edgeworth picked up an object from his desk and presented it to the Judge,

**TAKE THAT!**

It was the crime scene photo, the one that showed the unconscious Lana lying in the shower. The moment I took a look at said picture then, the contradiction to what Heatherd had said was more than just obvious,

"The handbag," I said out loud. "The handbag is there on that photo, next to Ms. Skye. That shouldn't be the case if she didn't have it on her at the time."

Edgeworth agreed, "Exactly. And this isn't the only thing that should be impossible if Ms. Skye didn't have anything on when she entered the crime scene."

"What do you mean, Mr. Edgeworth?" the judge asked, prompting Edgeworth to prepare even more evidence to present.

"Firstly, remember the rope which the Defendant allegedly used to commit suicide. It was rather heavy and long. Definitely not something Wright would keep around at home for no good reason, or something that one could easily carry around unnoticed without some kind of vessel. Similarly, isn't it unlikely that the murder weapon was Ms. Skye's knife, which, as some here know, was always contained in her handbag if she didn't even have said handbag on her person at the time?"

As Edgeworth was still talking, I was thinking through the situation, biting my lip. I found a hole in what I heard, and, no matter if I liked it or not, it pretty much made all of what he had said invalid. I had no choice but to point it out to him.

**OBJECTION!**

"Edgeworth, there's a problem with what you just said," I started. "Even if Ms. Heatherd just said that Lana had nothing on her at the time, the photo proves that Lana really _did _have her handbag on her when the crime occurred, so none of this actually means anything. Also, Lana could just have hidden the rope and knife in my apartment during her last visit, so she technically didn't even need to be carrying them on her when she came that day. In the end, the only thing this contradiction really does…"

I glanced over to Heatherd, who was, again, spinning her hair around her finger,

"…is making me wonder why the witness made such a strange mistake in her testimony…"

Heatherd's reaction was a mere shrug, decorated with the words,

"Well, I just misremembered, I guess. I mean, it's just a handbag. Nothing too noticeable. Can you blame me for forgetting that?"

"Hm…" The Judge did not seem all too satisfied with this reply. "The witness's memory is, frankly, starting to worry me."

_(Her memory is really not the most "worrisome" quality of this witness, Your Honor,) _I thought to myself, as Heatherd kept sullying the floor with crumbs from her choco-sticks, her eyes apparently marveling the architecture of the courthouse.

_(As long as she keeps dodging the contradictions we find like this, our only way to make her testimony finally fall is to find undeniable proof that she's just making the entire story up. But how…?)_

On the other side of the room, I could see Edgeworth pondering about something, looking over his notes in a small organizer. Finally, he turned towards the judge again,

"Your Honor, I would like the witness's statement about not remembering anything noticeable about the Defendant to be added to her testimony."

A nod from the Judge.

"The witness will amend her testimony then."

"Hmph. Fine." Heatherd just grunted, unimpressed.

"_There was absolutely nothing interesting or weird about the Defendant when I saw her enter."_

**OBJECTION!**

"Allow me to ask the Prosecution a question before I proceed," Edgeworth started his explanation.

"Uhm… Me?" I was somewhat taken aback. I had expected Edgeworth to address Heatherd, not me, so I wasn't quite sure how to react. I smiled nervously, as I had no idea where this could be going.

"Yes, you, Wright," he went on, "You are the owner of the apartment which happens to be this case's crime scene. Now, let us assume you need a ladder for something. Would you have the ladder stored somewhere in your apartment?"

"Uhm…No, I don't think so," I explained, still having not more than an extremely vague idea what he was trying to prove. Though, slowly something was starting to dawn to me. "A ladder's not something I'd need every day, after all. It'd just be in the way and take up space. I'd probably keep it in the building's cellar or borrow one from the Janitor if I need it…"

"Which fits perfectly well with the fact that nothing even resembling a ladder was found at the crime scene, correct?" Edgeworth went on.

"Uhm… Yeah, I guess so…?"

_(…Ladders…? Why does this sound so familiar…? Wait… Maya said something about this, didn't she…?)_

Just when I was starting to grasp what was going on, Edgeworth began to smile. "Well then, if the court may please turn its attention to the scene of the alleged suicide attempt now, please?"

Edgeworth went on to show the photo of the unconscious Lana again.

"I took the liberty of taking some measurements during my investigations and came to the conclusion that it would have been absolutely impossible for the Defendant to place the rope where it was found, unless she was making use of a Ladder of some kind."

"To be exact, it would have needed to be a _stepladder_, Edgeworth…" I interrupted him…

…and earned myself awkward silence weird stares from the entire courtroom. And a glare that pretty much asked _'What in the world, Wright?'_ from Edgeworth. Suddenly, I didn't feel well at all in my skin anymore. Especially when I glanced to my left and noticed Franziska Von Karma's eyes shooting ice-beams at me…

It was enough to make me shrink a few inches behind my desk in shame and force a nervous smile,

"J-Just saying… Heh… Never mind. Carry on."

Edgeworth did exactly as I had suggested him to do, which I was thankful for.

"In any case, there was no kind of ladder, or anything else like it found at the crime scene, as I mentioned before. And just now, Mr. Wright told us that he did not keep anything like this at home himself. Therefore, I ask the witness…" This was the point where Edgeworth raised his voice loud enough to make sure that even Heatherd couldn't ignore him. "How could have the Defendant moved such a big, noticeable object to the crime scene, without you noticing it? How should she have removed it again, when she was, in fact, _unconscious _at the time?"

Heatherd froze at this moment. For a split-second, it looked like she was trying to come up with a witty remark but obviously this attempt failed. Her face fell. And her hair fell from her finger. She finally just stared at the ceiling for a short while, before she, finally stumbled and shrieked.

"Eeek!"

"Ms. Heatherd," I called out to her before she could even recover, demanding. "If there's anything you haven't told the court so far, you better tell us now!"

"_Shut up_!"

And that was when Heatherd suddenly snapped at me. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I have nothing to tell to you! Not to _any _of you! Nothing!"

In spite of her suddenly yelling at me, I stayed in a tense position, glaring at her as menacingly as I could,

_(Yes, you do. It doesn't take a genius to see that. The entire courtroom has understood it by now!)_

Before my eyes, I could see the Psyche Locks on the girl, though obviously not the same as I had broken the day before. Heatherd was still not ready to reveal her secret, despite all the pressure. Wasn't she afraid of the consequences? Her yelling suggested she was, but yet she stayed stubborn. Though, there was something else. Something Heatherd hadn't shown until now, a quality I only noticed now that she was starting to run out of excuses. I looked closer. I couldn't quite say what it was, but there was something in how she yelled, how she denied everything despite tons of evidence to the contrary, how her face twitched as she did and how she fletched her teeth. There was something… _familiar. _

_(This face… this expression… I've seen it before,) _I realized. _(But… where…?)_

"Your Honor," it was Edgeworth who spoke now. And he seemed rather confident too. "As we have demonstrated, the witness's testimony, according to all rules of logic, would have to be a lie, unless we assume that this witness possesses an unusually bad memory…"

"Shut up!" Heatherd yelled once more and now, she didn't even seem to be thinking what she was saying anymore. "My memory's fine! Absolutely fine, I tell you!"

"Or…

Edgeworth had raised the attention of the entire room once more. There was a satisfied smirk on his face. "Or we assume that she is, in fact, not lying about having seen Ms. Skye when she approached the crime scene. Meaning that, Ms. Skye, was, in fact, not carrying anything else on her at the time. This, in turn, can only mean one thing…"

"What, Mr. Edgeworth?" The Judge asked bewildered. "What does it mean?"

And still, Edgeworth was smiling, when he began to explain. "It, of course, means that Ms. Skye was not the one who attached the rope to the shower-rod. Which leads us to the conclusion…"

He hit his desk with one hand, as to make sure that everyone was listening.

"That someone else entered the crime scene that afternoon! A person Ms. Heatherd _still_ refuses to reveal to us! _That _is her true lie!"

And with this sentence, Edgeworth had once reminded the entire courtroom of his rather clear goal regarding that girl's testimony: Making it fall. Fall so hard, that not even the most creative and interesting excuse could make it look true anymore.

_(Without Heatherd, there's no witnesses left for the Prosecution's side,) _I thought to myself. _(And if that is the case… All he needs is for Lana to pull back her confession and find a plausible alternate suspect. Then she will be free.)_

"True lie? Oh come on! That doesn't even make any sense!", Heatherd insisted. She actually hit the witness stand with her fist then. "There is no "lie"! All I say is the truth and you're just trying to make me look like the villain here without even having any actual proof! Jerk!"

_(Sorry, but the bratty schoolgirl act isn't cutting it anymore, Miss,) _I added mentally, before reminding myself. _(Of course, the only thing it ever 'cut' in the first place were my nerves…)_

"Well then, Ms. Heatherd…" Edgeworth glared at Heatherd his most convincing glare. It was a pretty cold one. "If your words are so 'true', why don't you explain to us why exactly they are more correct than the entirety of what the Defense has yet proposed in this trial? In a testimony?"

There was an eerie glare in Heatherd's eyes that resembled that of a starving animal about to leap at its prey.

"That you can have, Mister," she sounded out her declaration of war. "As many times as you want. My testimony. Will. Not. Change."

"Your Honor," leaning forward a bit I spoke next. "Given how many times we have now already discovered discrepancies in this witnesses' testimony, I say we should make this Ms. Heatherd's last chance to correct her testimony. Should this next testimony be as unbelievable as the past ones, I propose we send her out and continue this trial in disregard of a witness testimony and let the evidence speak instead."

Immediately, I found myself yelled at from the center of the courtroom in the most outraged voice you will ever hear.

"What? What side are you on anyway?"

"The right one," I replied factually. "And to be bluntly honest: You're not making it any easier to believe that that's not Edgeworth's side. Not one bit easier, in fact."

"Ghh…"

"So? Ms. Lilie Heatherd?" I repeated once more, trying to sound as serious as I could. "Your last chance… otherwise, this prosecution sees no further reason to keep you in this courtroom any longer."

"This… That was a huge mistake, Mr. Phoenix Wright… A great one…"

Heatherd's eyes were at the floor, both her hands balled to fists.

"I… I… I'll show you. You'll be sorry for that." She looked up again. "And I won't change my testimony! And I'll tell you the reason why! Right here, right now!"

Slight surprise hit me. By now, I would have expected Heatherd to make some kinds of amendments, but she still kept insisting on her claims with iron resistance. I couldn't remember having ever seen a witness act like this before. It seemed strange to me. It was as if there was… something on stake for her if she even made as much as simple alterations to her testimony. I kept watching her, as Heatherd, finally, appeared to grow slightly calmer again. Eating a few more choco sticks – why exactly wasn't that box empty yet? – she continued her testimony.

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**The Truth**_

"_Everything I said so far was true. The problems with my testimony are just because I misremembered some stuff._

_Having a faulty memory is not a crime. Likewise, it doesn't change the facts of the case._

_One of those facts is that there are only a few people who could have entered the crime scene. _

_And except for the Skye sisters none of those was at the building that day._

_Nobody else could have opened the door and nobody else came by and did. That is the truth."_

Heatherd suddenly gave off a vibe of 'security', as if she had managed to completely calm herself with the thought that her current position was, in fact, absolutely safe. She seemed to trust in her testimony a lot.

This, however, was something I didn't understand in the least.

_(What's that?) _I found myself shaking my head at the testimony instinctively. _(That testimony… It's… It's a lie! A blunt lie! It contradicts everything she told me yesterday... Why would she make such an obvious mistake? Did we shake her that much already?)_

I was about to open my mouth and object to the testimony before Edgeworth could even be asked to cross-examine it, but, I was distracted the moment I laid eyes on the witness stand again. Heatherd was glaring in my direction. Not at me, not at anyone else, just into the direction I was standing. It was, in a way… as if she was looking _through_ me. Nevertheless, the glare in her eyes was menacing, full of anger and spite. Her hands were balled to fists and shaking. It was obvious she was trying to tell me something with that look, something beyond _'I hate you'_… But what that was, I couldn't understand. I found myself puzzled and only barely aware of the conversation Edgeworth and the Judge were leading in the meantime.

"Hm… I remember, we discussed the problematic of the security system of the apartments before in yesterday's trial," the judge recalled, as Edgeworth was already nodding.

"Yes and we have indeed made the discovery that it would have been impossible to circumvent this system with the conventional methods."

The judge's eyes were closed as Edgeworth explained that, but I doubt he managed to miss the special emphasis Edgeworth had put on the word "conventional". He was on to something and I knew to what. After all, it was me who had given him the evidence. Before I knew it, the judge had already given Edgeworth the permission to cross-examine the witness once more.

~-Cross Examination-~

"_Everything I said so far was true. The problems with my testimony are just because I misremembered some stuff._

_Having a faulty memory is not a crime. Likewise, it doesn't change the facts of the case._

_One of those facts is that there are only a few people who could have entered the crime scene. _

_And except for the Skye sisters none of those was at the building that day._

_Nobody else could have opened the door and nobody else came by and did. That is the truth."_

**OBJECTION!**

"It ends here, Ms. Heatherd."

Edgeworth was smiling, his finger was tapping against the side of his forehead.

"Yeah," she replied. "Your career most likely does, if you come up with some kind of baseless, convoluted complaint n-"

"Your Honor," Edgeworth didn't even try anymore to pay attention to Heatherd's rambling. "The testimony's last statement directly contradicts a vital piece of evidence."

And before the judge even said anything, I found myself nodding and agreeing.

"Yes. And this time, it is something she can't blame on her memory… Since she told me about it before."

As Heatherd heard me talk, her cool, immediately, was gone again as if it had never existed. Shocked, she turned to my side, screeching, "W… What are you _doing?_" but I decided to just ignore her and go on, my finger outstretched in her direction.

"Your Honor. She knew it. Which means that she knowingly lied in her testimony. The witness was fooling the court and committing intentional perjury all along, Your Honor!"

The crowd, naturally, began rambling, as the judge's face gave us all an exceptional display of confusion and surprise in once.

"What? Am I the only one who feels utterly left out of the loop in this room right now?" he asked. "Mr. Wright, Mr. Edgeworth, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Wright, please allow me to continue here," Edgeworth told me with a slight bow – it looked different from the bow I was used to from him. Was this Gregory Edgeworth's bow, maybe? – and then, he continued. "Your Honor, it appears Mr. Wright performed an additional questioning on the witness yesterday afternoon, which resulted in some rather… interesting results. To explain it more clearly: A previously unknown set of fingerprints on the doorknob of Mr. Wright's apartment were identified…"

"Stop!" Heatherd yelled through the entire courtroom. "This has nothing to do with the case! Stop! Stop right now—"

The Judge's gavel interrupted her screaming. "Witness, I ask _you_ to stop right now and let the Defense explain their deductions, otherwise I will have to penalize you with a high fine."

"_But! But…_"

"Mr. Edgeworth, please continue!"

_(Wow, the Judge can actually __**bite? **__) _I realized with more than just surprise, finding that I was actually backing off a bit. It sure took a lot to make our good old Judge become as active as this, but Heatherd had gone and done it. Impressive.

"Very well," Edgeworth did as the Judge had told him with a nod. "Allow me to present to the court… The updated list of the fingerprints on the door."

"Hm…" The judge took a close look. "The last missing name was filled in… Dylan… Sengage? Just where did I hear this name before?"

"Perhaps this will jog your memory, Your Honor." Edgeworth now brought out yet another piece of evidence. I expected it to be the newspaper clipping I had given him, but… Edgeworth, of course, had gone a step further than that. I should have expected that, though. Edgeworth had never liked leaving details up to coincidence. Just like back in our school days.

In his hands, Miles Edgeworth held an entire case file.

"STV-01. I trust you are familiar with this case?"

The Judge's eyes were closed, as he tried to recall.

"ST… Oh, yes, now I remember! State VS. Sengage. It was the case of this book…"

"Indeed," Edgeworth nodded. "The Defendant was a professional locksmith. Rather passionate about his work. One of the duties of a locksmith is to open the doors of clients who locked themselves out of their homes. This, as you probably know, sometimes required damaging the lock, a situation Sengage, seeing lock-making as a kind of _art_,wanted to prevent at all costs. This tendency caused him to develop a sort of passion for… lock-picking."

"Lock-picking?" The judge asked confused.

"If done correctly, lock picking can open a door without damaging the lock. Which is precisely why Dietrich Sengage began developing lock picking techniques in order to circumvent the necessity of damaging the lock once and for all. And eventually, he had managed to develop techniques to pick every lock developed by this point successfully, without leaving grave traces. Sengage was proud of his work, so proud in fact, he decided to write his entire knowledge down and make it known to the world… he eventually published a book. However… this is where the trouble began."

"I remember now," the judge nodded. "The book was outlawed by order of the court."

"Yes, naturally, as it would not have only made the work of locksmiths, but also that of the common thief laughably easy."

_(If all you had to do in order to crack each and every lock in the world was to just buy a single book...) _I pondered to myself. _(…the chaos would be perfect. It'd be a burglar's paradise.)_

"Anyway, the case took a tragic end," Edgeworth explained. "With the verdict, not only had all the effort the Defendant had put into the book been in vain, his reputation was ruined as well. Sengage, who had by this point become utterly obsessed with his work was devastated by the outcome and found that his life was ruined. He committed suicide not long after… in the bathroom of his apartment."

"In the bathroom of…" The Judge's eyes widened. "Wait! Doesn't that sound just like the case on hand?"

Edgeworth hesitated a bit to say something, as if he had to think through something first. Then, however, he spoke. "It isn't an exact match, but, yes, a certain similarity can't be denied. However, what is much more important… When Sengage died, he left behind a child. A son, to be precise."

"A son…?"

"The child was thirteen years old when the incident occurred, Your Honor." Edgeworth elaborated. "He is very intelligent and possesses a photographic memory, which enables him to remember great amounts of information within a small time span and in great detail… It is therefore entirely plausible that the boy knew the exact contents of the aforementioned book… by heart."

And then, even the judge needed no ten seconds to realize what Edgeworth was meaning to point out. Eyes wide open, he had his full attention turned to Edgeworth, as Heatherd, in the witness stand… began to cry?  
I was baffled. That was not the reaction I had expected. Wordless, I stared at the witness stand, where the young woman was standing, shivering in fear, her eyes turned at the stand. She opened her mouth, but what came out wasn't yelling. I could make out what she whispered.

"_K…Keep him out of this,"_ she whispered. _"Please… d-don't… don't drag him…into this…"_

I felt a bit unsure what to think about what I was seeing there. This was so different from anything of this girl I had seen so far. And yet… it seemed _genuine_.

And why shouldn't it have been? What could she have possibly gained from _this_?

"A child… with knowledge of how to open every lock that was produced before the year 2017…?"

Edgeworth nodded. "Exactly, Your Honor."

"And if I might ask, Mr. Edgeworth, what might the name of this boy be?"

"Dietrich Sengage's son's name is… Dylan Sengage. The same name as on Mr. Wright's list. Today, he should be fifteen years of age. Here. A photograph of the boy was among the files of the case."

"Given that the name matches… I assume the court can accept this case file into evidence," the judge decided.

The sounds of the voices of the people in the gallery were echoing through the entire courtroom. People were drawing conclusions. None of them disadvantageous for Edgeworth. He had it. He was almost there.

In order to get the Court's attention again, Edgeworth hit his desk with his hand once,

"Your Honor. Let us take a look over the facts again now. We know that a person by the name 'Dylan Sengage' touched the doorknob of the door to the crime scene. Most likely this was on the day of the crime as well. Otherwise they might have been wiped off long since then. Also, we know that a boy by the same name was likely in possession of knowledge that would have allowed him to open the door _without_ the necessary keycard… adding another person to the list of people with the ability to access the crime scene. Further, we have by now discovered that, while Lana Skye would have been able to commit the crime, it would have been impossible for her to prepare the suicide attempt, given the state the crime scene was found in. That, and the fact that the suicide note most likely wasn't written by her makes it rather likely that she was, in fact, framed for the attempted murder-suicide. And the revelation that there is the possibility that a third party opened the door on the day of the crime makes this even more likely."

The Judge listened intently and seemed to not disagree with a word Edgeworth said.

"I see…"

"However," Edgeworth continued. "There is still one thing that contradicts the idea of someone other than Lana Skye having committed the crime and that is Lilie Heatherd's testimony. Why this, most likely, cannot exactly be considered 'solid proof' is something I don't believe I have to elaborate on further."

"Indeed."

"It does, however, bring up a question…"

I took the liberty of finishing Edgeworth's sentence there.

"'Why did Heatherd lie regarding the people who entered the crime scene?' …That's the question you mean, right?"

And Edgeworth nodded once more.

"Yes."

"And why did she?" The Judge then asked. "Can you answer this question, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"In order to find an answer to this question, Your Honor, we have to ask ourselves a few other questions first," Edgeworth continued. "Like, why did Ms. Heatherd deny the existence of any other witnesses so determinedly? Why would she spend several hours in the hallway for such a puny reason as eating? Why did she not notice Mrs. and Ms. Fey, why did she keep the existence of Dylan Sengage's fingerprints secret to the court, even though Mr. Wright's questioning proved it and why did she lie in her testimony? All those questions combined have just one answer for me, Your Honor,"

Edgeworth then pointed at Heatherd in the most accusing way possible,

"Ms. Lilie Heatherd did not only know that Dylan Heatherd was present the day of the crime, she was also aware that he had opened the door to the crime scene. And, what's more… She knew the purpose. And was most likely involved in it as well! And said purpose was… To commit the murder of Ema Skye and frame her sister, Lana Skye, of the deed!"

And the volume in the courtroom was back to maximum level once more.

**OBJECTION!**

Heatherd had finally managed to yell something out again,

"That…That …" She seemed to have difficulty talking, as if she was out of breath. Soon, however, she finally yelled. "That's all absurd! You're saying I covered for a boy I don't even know? Why should I do that?"

"Oh, Ms. Heatherd. I am not saying that you covered for him," Edgeworth said, his finger still pointing at her. "I am saying that you were directly involved in the murder of Ema Skye! You were at the crime scene and are at the very least partly responsible for her death!"

"_W-What?"_

It was a weird, almost painful shriek Heatherd had sounded out there, as if a small bit of air had just exploded out of her before her airways had suddenly closed on her voice. And yet, it had been much louder than it logically should have been.

"That… NO!" She yelled. "No, I didn't! I've got nothing to do with it! NOTHING! I've got no motive, no way to enter the crime scene… There's not even evidence connecting me to the crime!"

"Actually, there is," Edgeworth claimed, making Heatherd look like someone had cut off her air supply. She froze like a statue, as he went on.

"I took the freedom to investigate the rooms of the 20th floor yesterday, with some help by the police," he explained. "While doing so we made an… interesting discovery."

And then, Edgeworth presented an item to the court. A photograph, showing an apartment living room, not unlike the one the murder had taken place in, yet the furniture was different… And there was an item leaning against the wall that really caught my attention. And the Judge's as well.

"Your Honor… This photograph was taken in the interiors of Ms. Heatherd's apartment," Edgeworth explained.

"Why, Mr. Edgeworth," the Judge said as he took a look at the picture. "… Isn't this… a stepladder?"

_(That's just like Edgeworth,) _I still found myself amazed at all the evidence he had found in that short time in which I had only found a few pieces myself. _(He really investigated into everything, didn't he?)_

"Indeed, Your Honor," Edgeworth nodded. "And, wouldn't you know it, it is just the correct height too. With something like this, even someone of Ms. Heatherd's stature could have easily attached the rope to the shower rod."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Heatherd yelled. "Just because I own some stupid ladder, it d-d-doesn't mean I k-killed a girl! I wouldn't… I couldn't! I couldn't have gotten on the… the crime scene… I…!"

"Actually, you could."

This was me. And once more, Heatherd froze. By now, her face was wet with tears and her body was shaking like she was standing in Antarctica wearing nothing but shorts and a tank-top.

"Mr. Wright?" The judge looked at me, as I went on to explain,

"Your Honor, Prosecution or not, I will not let the witness get away with such an obvious lie. In fact, she herself told me the reason she could have easily accessed the crime scene on the day of the crime."

"She did?" Surprise was written on more faces than just the judge's. I smiled confidently.

"Why, yes, she did. With a little help by… a friend."

"What is the Prosecution trying to say with this?" I heard the Judge ask, causing me to turn and look up to him.

"Your Honor, if you remember back, earlier in this very trial, Ms. Heatherd mentioned someone: Her boyfriend. This is relevant." I put my hands on the desk. "Because I know for a fact that this very boyfriend is actually… Dylan Sengage. The son of Dietrich Sengage."

"No!" Heatherd was exclaiming once more, obviously out of ideas what else to yell at us. "Stop it! That's a… a conspiracy! I'm just a witness! I just reported the murder, I… I don't know any Sengage! He's lying, I don't! You can't prove it!"

"Actually, I can," I then said... for the first time today surprising even Edgeworth.

"You can?" he asked.

"You can?" the Judge repeated. "But… isn't that boy only 15 years old today?"

And I nodded at both of them. "Yes, I can. I know, it sounds strange, but I have proof that this witness and Dylan Sengage are involved with each other. And that proof is…"

Once more, the fact how incredibly lucky I was came to my mind. Of course, any normal prosecutor wouldn't have found themselves lucky for being able to present evidence that could get the Defendant off the hook, but I wasn't exactly a 'normal' prosecutor, was I? In any case, I pulled the small object that would unveil Heatherd's little secret out of my pocket, opening it with a short click as I did. I presented the clover pendant and the picture within to the court.

**TAKE THAT!**

"If the court would please pay attention," I started. "…to this photograph of Lilie Heatherd and her boyfriend. Compare the boy on the photo to the photograph Edgeworth showed earlier you will find that there is an… uncanny resemblance."

I had expected the pendant to turn into the courtroom's number one source of gossip the moment I presented it and this expectation wasn't betrayed. As soon as I had showed it, there seemed to be no other theme in the Gallery. A situation Heatherd was clearly everything but happy about. There were still tears on her eyes and in her eyes and she frantically looked all over the courtroom, almost spinning like a tiger caught in a cage. She was also being stared at like one.

"Order!" The Judge attempted to somewhat restore silence to the room. "Order in the court!"

Edgeworth spoke as soon as it was possible to hear him clearly. "Your Honor, the Defense deduces the following: The witness, Lilie Heatherd was very much able to enter the scene of the crime with the help of Dylan Sengage, with whom she shares a close relationship. There is also a high possibility that she was involved in the altering the crime scene. Furthermore, she lied several times throughout her testimony."

"It makes no sense!" Heatherd shouted. "Lanny's just a kid! Why should he help me d-do… something like… Why should we do that? Why should he help somebody kill a person! He wouldn't! He would never…"

"Which is why I am not suspecting him," Edgeworth interrupted Heatherd, who then, momentarily, halted.

"Y…You don't…?"

The expression on her face said nothing, was like a clean slate. She slowly turned her head to Edgeworth then, apparently watching him as he went on.

"No, Ms. Heatherd. I don't believe a child would have knowingly helped commit an atrocity like this. But Sengage trusts you. It would have been easy for you to trick him into opening the door for you… That would have been all you would need."

"I… tricked… Lanny…?"

I couldn't see Heatherd's face, as she had turned completely towards Edgeworth by that point, but her voice… it was surprisingly soft. I had no idea what was going on. She was being unusually meek, moved little, unusually focused on Edgeworth… Almost _calm. _Her behavior, had, yet again, changed…

"Yes, you tricked him, Ms. Heatherd," Edgeworth proposed. "You used the boy to open the door for you, gaining access to the room and enabling you to play a role in the murder, whatever that role might have been! I am not exactly sure yet, how many culprits there were and how exactly the murder was committed, however… One thing is for certain…

And, once again, Edgeworth, glaring straight down at Heatherd in the witness stand, pointing at her, declaring,

"You, Lilie Heatherd, are the culprit in the death of Ema Skye! You are a _murderer_!"

For a moment that seemed to last several minutes the entire courtroom was silent. Not a sound, not even from the gallery… The right side of the gallery- the side that could see Heatherd's face well, unlike me- seemed rather shocked.

Among them were the children I had noticed earlier, Apollo and Trucy. And now, I could see they were holding hands. For some reason, they were holding hands.

_(W-What is happening over there?) _ I wondered to myself, feeling as tense as I hadn't felt all day.

"Miss… Miss Heatherd?" I heard Edgeworth ask from the other side of the room. His face, too, showed clearly that something was definitely _wrong_ over there. Yet, the courtroom remained in silence.

When the eerie moment finally ended, a voice broke through the silence, whispering. I had to think for a bit, before I figured out the voice's source. It didn't seem familiar right away. Only when I listened closely, I realized… It was Heatherd.

"_P-Please… don't hurt me,"_ she whispered. _"Go…away…"_

And then, from one second to the other, the moment was over. And from one second to the other, with a loud noise… Heatherd collapsed in the witness stand. She made a weak, disoriented attempt to regain her balance by placing a hand on the stand, but it was futile. Her legs failed her and then she was just lying on the floor. And this was the moment were the spell of silence over the courtroom was finally broken completely.

"Bailiff!" The Judge had gotten up from his chair. "Get a medic in this courtroom immediately!"

Meanwhile, Edgeworth, me and even Franziska had all left our places in the courtroom and rushed to the witness stand. Franziska was there first, and she immediately checked on the pulse.

"Unconscious," she stated. "Most likely due to the stress."

Edgeworth, however, disagreed, shaking his head. "No. That wasn't just stress… at least not the regular kind."

"Edgeworth…?"

My eyes were on him, most likely looking, asking. Probably because I wanted to ask. So many things that I was confused about.

"This woman wasn't merely stressed and shocked before she collapsed," he then said, as if to respond to my expression. "The moment I looked into her eyes and accused her… She looked as if she was _dying_."

And there was a deep worry in his voice when he said this. His eyes drifted off, as if he felt that he had made a horrible mistake.

"D…Dying?" I asked, more to myself than anybody else. I didn't understand.

I didn't understand what was going on. I didn't know what had happened or why Heatherd had collapsed. All I knew is that two minutes later, a medical team came to the courtroom, taking away the unconscious Lilie Heatherd. They said the same as Franziska that it was merely a shock and she'd be awake again in half an hour, at most. But Edgeworth had stated differently and that worried me.

Taking Lilie Heatherd's testimony apart had been easy enough. We had, however, never expected to be also taking apart Lilie Heatherd _herself_.

* * *

_**This Fanfic now has an In-Universe Tumblr Blog, where you can ask me or the characters questions regarding anything you want and get background information, like paying a look at Apollo's diary or get some artwork! I am putting up the Link in my Author's Profile. There's a Link on the TV Tropes Page as well. Pay a look, please! If you have any questions, you are way more likely to get an answer regarding them there than if you write them in the reviews. ^^;**_

_Court Record will go up once I posted the chapter on CR. That could take a while, but since the only new piece of evidence are the extended Case File of the Sengage Case and a Stepladder (Yes, I know, I am way overdoing it with the Stepladders.) That should not be a problem. _

_The third semester of University taught me a valuable lesson so far. That lesson being that University can be HELL. Gosh, they want us to do so much stuff, I want to just kneel over and die. This just doesn't mix well with my natural laziness and my creative spirit… ;_;_

_I wanted to finish this chapter weeks ago, I really wanted, but studying kept me too busy to ever write more than a few pages at a time. *sigh* I will need to make the chapters shorter again, should I really want to speed up updating again, I guess._

_At least I am making progress with GK2 now, since my Japanese Skills have finally developed enough to allow me to somewhat read the dialogue fluently. So yeah, I guess I might finish the game before the year ends… if I am lucky._

_Talking about games, Zelda Skyward Sword is awesome and anyone who ever liked any Zelda Game should try it. It's not disappointing me in any respect and I wish I had more time to play it… it might just be my favorite Zelda game yet. *sigh*_

_In any case, this chapter was hell to write, because I was seriously getting sick of Lilie. Really, I am glad I finally got that character out of the witness stand. Just because I created her, it doesn't mean I have to like her and, oh, trust me, just because I made her collapse in the stand just now, it doesn't mean I'm making her sympathetic. She's not the first witness to collapse in that stand. Just the first to look like she was biting it while doing so. _

_Actually, she wasn't even intended to collapse here, but I couldn't think of a good way to end the scene and then realized… "Hey! This is a good moment to drive point XY home". I guess I also already was so sick of that brat by that time that I just wanted to hurt her, so I made her crash land into the floor tiles. Call me a rotten character creator, but I finally wanted to get on to characters who don't talk BS every time they open their mouth. X-x_


	27. What They Saw

**May 3nd, 12:15pm**

**District Court**

**Courtroom No. 2**

"Mr. Wright. How is the witness?"

This was the question I found myself confronted with just mere ten minutes later, back in the prosecution's bench in the courtroom. There were probably still sweat pearls hanging from my face from the shock just a few minutes earlier, but at least this was over now.

"She's come to already," I replied to the Judge calmly and somewhat relieved. "…And demanded a fluffy pillow and a blanket as soon as she did. I think it's safe to assume the witness is going to be in the condition to return to the courtroom again soon."

"Ah… That sounds, well… fortunate?"

The Judge sounded everything but sure of his words when he said that, and who could have blamed him? No matter what had happened just now – even though we still didn't have much more than a vague idea regarding why it even happened – she was still Heatherd, the woman who had cost the entire courtroom half their nerves already.

"Ms. Von Karma is supervising her. For now, however, it's best to allow her to rest a bit," I told the Judge. "While it's important to find out what exactly that woman's true role in the case is, I don't think that we should risk cross-examining her further now…"

_(And even if we don't cross-examine her now… It doesn't really matter anymore. Edgeworth got her. Her testimony is ruined.)_

I found myself not as surprised that Von Karma had immediately volunteered to keep an eye on Heatherd than I thought I would be. Von Karma had been unusually silent and passive throughout the entirety of today's trial. It was obvious that something was going on within her mind… even though I had no idea what that was. But there was no time to worry about that now. I had to focus on the present. I glanced over to the defense's bench, where Edgeworth stood, still alone. I was beginning to seriously wonder where Dahlia might have gone. A look into the gallery finally enlightened me.

There. There she was, right in the audience. Dahlia was sitting beside Iris while, in turn, a prison guard was seated to her right. The sisters were holding hands. Naturally, I couldn't hear them talk, but Iris let out a visible sigh… What were they speaking about? And why hadn't I seen Dahlia before? Had she been with Iris all the time? Questions over questions…

A little further to the right, I could once again spot Trucy Enigmar and Apollo sitting in the audience, at the very same spot I had seen them before, talking to each other like earlier. Still, something had changed about them. It didn't take me long to determine what that was. Their mood, relaxed and casual until the last break, had made a one-eighty degree flip, both of them seeming very excited and tense. They seemed a whole lot more focused on the happenings in the courtroom now than they had seemed before, especially young Apollo, whose already comparably big eyes seemed even sharper and distinct now. Trucy's stare was pretty noticeable as well. The events during Heatherd's last cross-examination had presumably shaken them awake to how serious this all was. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing, but I tended more towards 'bad'. After all, they were just children. I hoped we hadn't scared them too much… Not that they seemed exactly 'scared'. More like 'eager'… But eager to do what?

"Hm…" During the time I had taken to examine the gallery a little further, the Judge had apparently mentally analyzed our current situation a bit, coming to an conclusion just as I turned my attention back to him.

"Well, without a witness, I don't really see a point in prolonging the trial any longer for today. Neither is it possible to declare a verdict with the current stand of information we have. I thus see no other option but to delay the conclusion of the trial for one last time, to tomorrow, the last possible date to decide this case."

_(…Postpone the trial until tomorrow… does that really make sense?) _I wondered to myself. _(It would give Edgeworth and me one more day to investigate… But, on the other hand, it'd also give Heatherd time to tamper around with her testimony enough to make it fit again. That would make us lose even more time. It's true, we can't cross-examine her again already right now. I can't help but feel that I'd rather have this case wrapped up sooner than later, but… Maybe, more time for our investigations would be enough to clear up all open questions.)_

After thinking all of this through as much as possible in the short time span I had, I finally made a decision and gave the judge a nod.

"I agree, Your Honor. At the current point, there is no use in resuming the trial. Not without a witness. Maybe we should postpone the resolution till tomorrow…"

**HOLD IT!**

It was no secret that it was kind of a hobby of Edgeworth's and mine to disagree with each other. That he had decided to disagree right now, however, of all times, left me a bit stunned.

"E-Edgeworth?" I gave him the clearest _'What now?'_ look I could conjure up as soon as he had interrupted the Judge and me. There was a smile on his face. And it was clearly directed at me.

"Wright. You should learn to not rush your conclusions like this, before truly having considered every other possibility."

_(__**My **__conclusions? I was agreeing with the Judge! How come he's not getting any of your flak?)_

Another hobby of Edgeworth's and mine was to insult each other on every given opportunity. Though, that was more a thing on his part than on mine. Probably because I, admittedly, just gave him more opportunities.

Despite all differences, it was interesting to see how all these things still applied here, even with our roles changed. The part of me that wasn't busy feeling offended was intrigued.

"Mr. Edgeworth, are you trying to say you see a way to continue this trial in a meaningful way?" the Judge asked.

Edgeworth tapped his pointer finger on his forehead just once and nodded, still wearing the same smile as before on his face.

"A meaningful and very reasonable way, Your Honor. As, while it is true that our last witness is in no state to be questioned any further for now… That does not prevent us from calling up another witness, does it?"

And that was the moment when I didn't know what to think anymore. Remember my _'What now?'_-face from earlier? Well, it had now effectively devolved into just a plain _'Ehhh…?' _face.

"Another… witness?"

_(Again?)_

I wasn't the only person in the courtroom who visibly thought that Edgeworth's strategy of continuing the trial by bringing in more and more new witnesses to be getting a bit old now. Even if all the previous witnesses he had brought in had been legitimate…

"There is _yet_ _another _witness?" The Judge was among us non-believers. "Who is it and how come this person has not previously been mentioned, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Oh, this person _has _been mentioned before in this trial, You Honor. Many, many times, in fact," Edgeworth claimed. "And I assure you that you will find that all of the previous witnesses will have to agree with the statement that this person had been present at the scene of the crime around the time of the murder. We merely have yet to actually hear her testimony. That is all."

I raised my head.

"'Her'?"

_(Is he talking about...?)_

I was beginning to understand what Edgeworth was planning to do. After all, there was only one woman –aside from Ema herself – who had not been questioned yet and who even Heatherd wouldn't deny to have been at the scene of the crime. And, as if he had understood that _I_ had understood, Edgeworth nodded slightly before continuing.

"Yes. The defense requests the defendant, Lana Skye, to be called to the witness stand!"

"The defendant?" The Judge asked, as if he needed reassurance that he had heard right.

_(Of course… That's it!) _I however, had understood completely what Edgeworth was trying to do. _(Lana's confession is the one thing still holding this case together in first place. If Edgeworth manages to invalidate that… then Lana would only be guilty of perjury. Not attempted murder-suicide or even plain murder…)_

"Well… If the prosecution agrees..."

Back straight, head up, I turned to the Judge again as soon as I had understood that my 'OK' was needed for Edgeworth to go through with this.

"Yes, I do." I nodded. "I, too, would be very interested in hearing Ms. Skye's testimony. And I won't request any preparation time for this either. She should tell the court just what she has to tell about the incident. That would be… a useful way to continue this trial."

And Edgeworth nodded. "Indeed. That's just what I thought."

"If I understood this right…" The Judge raised his head. "Both defense and prosecution agree that the defendant, Ms. Skye, should be cross-examined right now, without any further delays?"

"Yes," Edgeworth repeated.

"If that is alright with you, Your Honor." I nodded once more.

The next thing that happened was the Judge's gavel sounding through the room.

"In that case, may I ask Ms. Skye to take the stand?"

Lana's reaction was calm, at least outwardly, but there was still something hesitant to the way she stepped forwards toward the stand, as if she was dreading the moment she would have to open her mouth and speak. And that moment was only seconds away…

"Please state your name and occupation for the protocol."

After three witnesses, asking this didn't even feel too awkward anymore.

"Lana Skye. I am the Chief Prosecutor of this District."

Lana replied in her usual factual, almost cold tone, but I knew better. She was nervous. She hadn't wanted to testify and she probably knew just all too well about Edgeworth's sharp mind and talent to spot inconsistencies. She knew that he was going to pluck her confession apart, bit by bit, until she would finally confess again – only that this time, it would be to the truth.

And this was exactly the point to which I wanted to get.

"Ms. Skye, you are accused of the murder of your younger sister, Ema, committed on May 1st in my apartment. What is your standpoint regarding these accusations?"

It was Edgeworth's downright dumbstruck face when I asked this that made me realize that reciting exactly what I would have expected him to say in my situation maybe wasn't my best idea- and Lana's reply to it made it pretty obvious why.

"They are true. Everything. Planning to commit murder suicide, I first took… my sister's life, followed by an unsuccessful suicide attempt on my own part. Everything is just as the prosecution originally assumed and Ms. Lilie Heatherd had suspected it to be."

_(That's not good.) _I bit my lip. _(Now that the Judge heard the confession from Lana herself, he'll be a lot more inclined to believe it. Ungh…)_

Edgeworth, however, was not going to just let it stand like this.

**HOLD IT!**

"Miss Skye!" One of Edgeworth's hands was on his desk now, and it had produced a loud, attention seeking noise when it made its way there. "What was this suspicious pause just now supposed to be? Just before you mentioned your sister?"

_(…!)_

I listened up. Being as startled by my own mistake as I had been, I had barely noticed the short silence in Lana's speech myself until Edgeworth had mentioned it. Lana, however, denied it.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Edgeworth. Perhaps you imagined it?"

**HOLD IT!**

"_So? Then why did your eyes slide to the side just now, Miss?"_

_(Huh?)_

For a moment, I wasn't sure if I had actually heard it, or just imagined it, but the voice that had just shouted out this sentence… had neither been Edgeworth's nor mine. Rather, it sounded like someone entirely different. Only when everyone turned their heads exactly where I expected them to turn, I knew that my suspicion had been correct.

And then, the whole courtroom was glaring at the one person in the gallery who was no longer sitting in his seat like a nice little boy, and that was… Apollo.

Not that the boy seemed to notice. He was way too focused on staring at Lana in the most unsettling manner I had ever seen a teenager glare at anything.

_(W-What… What is that kid doing…?)_

"…That was pretty suspicious, if you ask me!"

I don't know if Apollo was planning to blurt out even more after this, but, in any case, he didn't get to do so. The Judge's gavel shut him up as soon as the judge had realized that voice – yes – _indeed _was that 'random' kid in the gallery…

"_Order!_"

And the moment the gavel hit the desk… something seemed to happen to the boy. It was strange to describe, but, the way how his pupils suddenly narrowed, his whole body jerked and his determined expression dropped like it had never been there in first place… It seemed a bit like he was waking up from some sort of 'trance'.

The Judge continued by shaking his head. "This is a courtroom, young man! As much as I appreciate getting into the trial, I will have to ask you to either behave or leave!"

"E-Eh… Ehm…"

And then, Apollo didn't seem to be sure what was going on at all anymore, all his previous confidence having vanished into oblivion. Obviously unsure what to do now, he finally just shrunk down, back into his seat, and gave the entire courtroom an apologetic, shameful, _"I'm sorry…" _under his breath. His face, however, didn't look 'sorry' at all. Just very, very confused…

"In any case…" It was Edgeworth who spoke next, bringing the trial back to focus, "I sincerely doubt I just 'imagined' your behavior just now, Ms. Skye. Especially considering that even the children in the gallery seem to have taken notice of it."

"My sister was my last living relative," Lana replied seemingly calm. "And you expect me to be able to mention her death unfazed? Your cold harshness surprises me, Mr. Edgeworth."

Edgeworth didn't answer to this, probably realizing that it was most likely useless to further press Lana on that point. She wouldn't answer. It was about time to give us a chance to find actual contradictions in her confession…

I raised my head.

"Ms. Skye, please testify regarding the events between 4pm and 5pm on May 1st."

Giving me a short nod, Lana replied, "I will."

_~-Witness Testimony-~_

_**Ema's demise**_

"_I arrived at the scene of the crime at approximately 4:40 PM._

_I used my keycard to enter. I was wearing gloves at the time, explaining the lack of fingerprints._

_Inside, I waited for my sister's arrival._

_When Ema came, we first idly spoke for a while._

_Then, when I saw the chance, I struck her from behind with a blunt object._

_Next, I carried her to the wall and stabbed her with my personal knife._

_I arranged the scene to look like there had been a struggle. Then I cleaned my knife of Ema's blood under the tap in the bathroom._

_Finally, I attempted to hang myself in the bathroom but failed. The rope couldn't carry my weight._

_I fell and lost consciousness. This is all."_

Lana attempted to appear calm and collected, but this façade was slightly cracking. The testimony she had just given was filled with holes and she knew it. No wonder, given she had all but a few minutes to come up with it. Then again, this was Lana… She was anything but stupid. If she somehow managed to refute all of the problems with the testimony during the cross-examination, it could drag the trial out further, maybe long enough for her to come up with a 'confession' convincing enough to seal her fate.

That couldn't happen. I knew that and Edgeworth knew it too. We had no choice but to save this woman from her own stubbornness, whether she liked it or not. If not for her, then for Ema…

"Miss Skye." Edgeworth's eyes were clear and serious, looking directly in Lana's face, who tried to subtly evade the gaze. "Is this really where you want to take this? The examination has not started yet. There is still time to take these statements back with a justification. I am telling you this as your attorney."

"I stand by my testimony and will not change it to my own advantage," Lana said in a downright monotonous voice. "I am well aware of the consequences, of course. And am willing to accept them."

_(We have everything we need,) _I thought to myself. _(This trial won't take much longer. As soon as we found out what really happened that day… This will end. Once and for all. And then I can finally take care of figuring out what happened to me.)_

"Mr. Edgeworth, you can now cross-examine the witness."

"Very well, Your Honor."

~-Cross Examination-~

"_I arrived at the scene of the crime at approximately 4:40 PM._

_I used my keycard to enter. I was wearing gloves at the time, explaining the lack of fingerprints._

**HOLD IT!**

Edgeworth's hand hit the desk flatly. "There were no gloves found on the crime scene!"

I bit my lip that moment. "Actually, there were."

The expression on Edgeworth's face changed a lot that moment. As he turned towards me with a puzzled look, I put my hands down on the table and explained, "I investigated the bathroom where the defendant was found the evening after the crime yesterday. We actually did find a pair of gloves there in the end. If the court would please take a look at this…"

I brought out the plastic bag that contained the nylon gloves and handed it to the bailiff, who, in turn, brought it to the judge. I continued explaining, "They were found in the toilet, which complements a suspicion I voiced during yesterday's trial. They were hard to spot, so it took me a while to find them. One of them is damaged, but the water washed away all eventual prints or blood. Still, I think it's rather safe to assume they were used in the murder."

"So what the prosecution proposed yesterday seems to have been correct," the Judge concluded, eying the gloves. "The culprit brought gloves to prevent touching anything directly. Then, he or she disposed of them via the toilet… hm. That makes sense."

Edgeworth had first seemed taken aback when I had presented the gloves, but now, his expression was calmer again. As if he was thinking about something and… somehow I felt like he liked the way his current train of thoughts was going. Don't ask me how I knew this though. It was just something in his expression. Many trials worth of experience might have something to do with it.

"Well, it seems like there were no further questions about this point. Witness, please proceed."

"Yes, Your Honor."

_Inside, I waited for my sister's arrival._

_When Ema came, we first idly spoke for a while."_

**HOLD IT!**

"What did you and your sister talk about, if I might ask?"

Lana stood there, stiffly disciplined as ever. "Nothing of importance. It was nothing but idle chitchat between sisters, including some exchange about our impending meeting with Mr. Wright."

"Why were you going to meet with me in first place?" I asked, when I realized that this was something I still didn't quite know.

Lana's response to this was less than impressed. "Mr. Wright, excuse me if I must ask, but is your memory leaving you?"

At this point, Edgeworth gave me a look that could be interpreted in many ways, 'worried' among them – but only because it was him giving it – as Lana continued,

"It was you who had invited both Ema and myself to come to your apartment. We were to discuss details regarding one of your recent cases. I merely used this opportunity to carry out my plans…"

"One of my cases? But what does Ema have to do with that? Why did she come along?"

"Again. You were the one who invited us, Mr. Wright. Shouldn't you be the one who knows this best?"

At this moment, I fell silent. I had nothing to respond with.

_(Darn…)_

It was then that I realized that, while I had read Ema's text message to, at least partly, explain what she had wanted from me that day, I actually had no idea why Lana had come as well. Was it really like she said? That _he_ - the other 'me' - had actually wanted to meet with both Lana and Ema that day to discuss something? What had he wanted to tell them…? And was it connected to the reason Ema died...?

I couldn't ask Lana those things right now. It would have been too suspicious. All that remained to me was to keep those things in mind until later.

Edgeworth asked another question:

"Was there anything notable about your sister that you noticed when you spoke to her?"

"No," Lana replied. "There was nothing of notice. She behaved perfectly normal and carried nothing on her that would have stuck in my mind."

"I see…"

I read in Edgeworth's face that this statement had only strengthened his belief Lana wasn't telling the truth, though I didn't really understand what – so far – had been wrong with what she had said. The problematic part was only going to come up in the next few moments…

_"Then, when I saw the chance, I struck her from behind with a blunt object."_

**HOLD IT!**

"Would you mind elaborating on said 'blunt object', Ms. Skye?" Edgeworth asked, clearly doubting that she even knew what had hit Ema.

Lana looked away. "I don't really remember it too well. I just took the first fitting object I found and used it. Then, I returned it to its place. I clearly wasn't in my right mind at the time, as you surely understand. It could have been anything. I assume it was a vase or something of that kind."

_(She doesn't know what Ema was hit with... That makes me wonder…)_ I scratched my chin a bit. _(Was the 'club' that robbed Ema of her consciousness even at the crime scene? I can't remember anything like this…)_

_"Next, I carried her to the wall and stabbed her with my personal knife._

_I arranged the scene to look like there had been a struggle. Then I cleaned my knife of Ema's blood under the tap in the bathroom."_

**OBJECTION!**

"Let us make sure I understood you correctly, Miss Skye." Edgeworth was calm and focused. "You are saying that you used your personal knife to stab the victim… Then cleaned it with soap and tap water from the bathroom?"

Lana nodded, equally calmly. "This is correct."

Edgeworth shrugged, smiled and sighed.

"Except for the fact that it is not possible."

Surprised, Lana lifted her head a bit, her eyes opening a bit further, her mouth opening slightly.

"What…?"

"Edgeworth." I put both my hands on the desk before me. "Not possible? You mean Ms. Skye's knife couldn't be the murder weapon?"

Edgeworth's hand rested on a file on the desk before him. "I wasn't referring to this directly, though the conclusion is ultimately the same."

Before I could figure out what he meant by that, Edgeworth had picked up the file and continued:

"Wright. Earlier, you mentioned a pair of gloves found in the toilet, complementing your theory from yesterday. You are saying that the killer used these gloves to protect their hands from getting stained with Ema Skye's blood. Is that correct?"

I nodded. "That's what I believe, yes."

"…However. I couldn't help but notice that there is one quality to these gloves that does not quite fit with what you proposed to us yesterday." Edgeworth smirked. "…Namely the fact that you were able to recover them from the crime scene in first place. Didn't you say yourself that the culprit would have flushed them down the toilet to destroy the evidence?"

"…!"

I began to understand what Edgeworth was talking about… And as I did so, more pieces began to line up in my mind. A whole lot of things finally began to make sense… while also some more questions showed up.

"Mr. Edgeworth, weren't you questioning Ms. Skye about the murder weapon just now?" I heard the judge's bewildered voice coming from above. "What is it with this sudden change in topic?"

It was me who responded:

"Your Honor, I think what Edgeworth is trying to tell us is that the knife couldn't have been cleaned… For the same reason the gloves were where they were found yesterday."

"You believe there is the same reason for both of this?"

Edgeworth took the floor again:

"I am going to try to explain the reasoning behind this, Your Honor: It is out of question that the killer threw the gloves into the toilet in order to dispose of them. They could turn out to become vital evidence for this case after all. However… Wright was still able to find them, which means the culprit did not flush after ridding himself of those gloves. The question is: Why? Pushing this one button would have barely taken up a second and there are many ways to do it without leaving any fingerprints. Which leads me to one possibility: What if the toilet wasn't flushed because it _couldn't _be flushed?"

"It couldn't?" The Judge didn't seem to yet fully understand, so Edgeworth did him a favor and kept explaining.

"During yesterday's trial Ms. Heatherd made a statement that she only mentioned once, yet it stayed on my mind… She said that most of the occupants of the 20th floor had left the building at the time of the crime… due to _maintenance works._"

Finally, a little light bulb seemed to light up in the Judge's mind.

"Maintenance works…!"

"Indeed, Your Honor. Maintenance works. Connecting the dots from here on should be easy. The toilet couldn't be flushed. Why? For a reason that would have also made it impossible for Ms. Skye to clean the knife of blood at the time of the murder. Namely…"

Edgeworth's hand landed on the desk again and he leaned forwards:

"_There must have been no running water in the 20th floor at the time of the murder!"_

Old habits die hard. In Lana's case, said "old habit" must have been biting her thumb nail when she was starting to lose her composure. Right now, she was gnawing on it nervously, so much it almost looked downright painful. It took her a short moment to force herself to lower her hand and instead turn towards Edgeworth, leaning on the witness stand as she did so.

"…P…Proof!" she shouted out. "Mr. Edgeworth… This is a fact-changing claim that you make there! Can you support it with evidence?"

"Ms. Heatherd's statement from yesterday is part of this trial's protocol," Edgeworth responded calmly, yet Lana disagreed.

"That statement proves nothing!" she claimed. "Ms. Heatherd was speaking of 'maintenance works'. Did she mention that it was the plumbing that was being worked on? There is nothing you can present to support this claim!"

It was then that I believed it to be my turn to say something again.

"Edgeworth may not have anything to support it… But I do."

"Mr. Wright…!"

Lana was slightly stunned, slowly turned her head into my direction, as I was searching my files for something… and found it.

**TAKE THAT!**

Once again, I couldn't help but wonder to myself what I would do if Maya didn't always end up convincing me to do things I probably shouldn't do but ended up getting me some invaluable evidence.

"If the court would please pay attention of the following data from the building's administration. If you do so, you will see that Mr. Edgeworth's deduction is absolutely… correct. There _was _no running water in the building in the timeframe that encompasses the time between the murder and the discovery of the crime scene. In other words: There is no way you could have cleaned a knife of all blood and fingerprints before Edgeworth and I arrived, Miss Skye!"

Lana lost her balance on the stand for a moment there. Clinging to the stand with one hand, she was sweating. Her eyes were on me, piercing, almost as if she silently asking me why I was doing this. More and more, it became clear to me that allowing herself to be pronounced guilty in this trial… Lana expected me to know the reason why. Meaning that the other Phoenix should have known. There was a reason. A reason she thought that ruining her own life once and for all for would make any sense.

To me, however, this didn't matter. All I knew was that Lana was innocent. Not just because I trusted her. Now, all evidence pointed at it as well. There was no way I was going to allow her to end it this way. No matter what her reasons were.

The Judge had, meanwhile, finished taking a look at the data I had presented to the court. Closing his eyes and thinking about it for a bit, he finally let his eyes sweep over the courtroom, the gallery, me, Lana, Edgeworth. He used his gavel once, before he announced:

"Well… In the light of this new evidence, I think there is one thing we can say for sure now… And that is that the knife that was found at the crime scene was not the actual murder weapon."

Edgeworth nodded. "I agree, Your Honor."

I did the same. "There would have been blood remaining on it, after all."

**HOLD IT!**

Lana smashed her hand flatly into the witness stand.

"And what does that mean? Just because the knife that was found at the crime scene wasn't the same that was registered in the Court Record, it does not mean that I wasn't the one who committed the crime!"

Edgeworth did the same as Lana, except with his own hand and desk.

"This was the only knife that could have caused the deadly wound at the crime scene, Ms. Skye! If it wasn't the true murder weapon, it means that that the knife that was actually used has been removed from the crime scene in-between the murder and Wright's and my arrival! You, however, where unconscious in this time frame. Meaning that someone else removed the murder weapon from the crime scene!"

Trying hard to regain her cool, Lana stood up straight. She didn't look at Edgeworth however.

"I could have found a different way to rid myself of the murder weapon. My memory of the time of the murder is… unclear. Perhaps I threw the knife out of the window?"

I replied. "The window…?"

"The bathroom window, Mr. Wright," Lana replied. "It might be too narrow to serve as an escape route, but take a look at the plan of the surroundings of the building. The window faces a small stream just behind it. Had I thrown the knife into this small river… It would have been a good enough alternate way to rid myself of it."

I took a look at the plans and realized she was right… There was a kind of small river in the backyard of the building. It would have been perfectly possible to throw the knife there through the small window, though she would have needed some crazy precision to successfully aim for this bit of water...

But this wasn't about probabilities. This was about possibilities. And as long as the possibility was there, there was no way we could argue with the point she had just made. Edgeworth, too, seemed to understand this just all too well.

Still, he wasn't out of munitions yet and was perfectly ready to show that.

"If that is the case… Then let us take a look at another question for now. Namely, how you brought said knife to the crime scene in first place."

Lana still refused to look at Edgeworth.

"What kind of question is this supposed to be? In my handbag, of course."

"Excuse me if I doubt this, Ms. Skye."

The woman in the witness stand jerked at the determined tone in Edgeworth's voice. He went on:

"According to Mrs. Fey's testimony, your handbag was stolen from you on the same afternoon the murder happened. She explicitly mentioned you not carrying anything on you at the time. "

"Mrs. Fey was probably trying to protect me by stating this," Lana claimed. "After all, I am a close friend of her elder daughter. The chance that she lied in order to make it look like I couldn't have committed the crime is rather high."

"…Ms. Skye. I am sorry to tell you that there is proof that you didn't have your handbag when you entered the building that day."

Lana's eyes opened wide.

"Proof…?"

**TAKE THAT!**

Edgeworth was holding a piece of evidence I hadn't seen before in this trial… A cellphone. Judging by the look in Lana's eyes when she saw it, it was most likely hers.

"Where… did you…?"

"This is your cellphone, Ms. Skye, correct?" Edgeworth asked. "It was found in your handbag, at the crime scene. The police deemed it as irrelevant to the case, so a friend of mine allowed me to take a look at it. What I found was… interesting. There are records of several missed calls on this cellphone… however, all only from one single afternoon. Not one from before. I assume you can guess which afternoon I am talking about?"

Lana had started to bite her thumbnail again. Her other hand enclosed one of the ends of her scarf.

"The afternoon… of… the murder…?" she spat out, only for the sake of responding.

And Edgeworth nodded. "Indeed. Tell me, Ms. Skye, isn't it strange that you have not a single missed call on your phone except for calls that happened that very afternoon? If you, in fact, carried your phone with you at the time, why didn't you pick them up? You also did not call back a single one of them, at least according to the records on your phone. It can't have been because of an empty battery. Your phone was almost fully charged when it was found."

She didn't seem like she had anything to reply to this, so Lana remained silent, trying hard to resist the need to gnaw on her thumbnail and looking all-around nervous. When Edgeworth saw that she wouldn't say anything, he simply continued:

"Given that your phone was found in your handbag and the timestamps of the missed calls match up with the period of time in which, according to Mrs. Fey, you were not on possession of it, that leads me to the conclusion that you indeed entered the building without your handbag, which, by extension, also means that you carried neither your phone, nor the alleged murder weapon at you at the time. How, however, come those items were found with you when I discovered you in the bathroom, unconscious? I can think of only one explanation: Someone else was present in this apartment during the events of the murder. Someone aside of yourself or the victim. And it was this person who returned your handbag to you after you had been robbed of your consciousness. The thief of your handbag and Ema's true murderer could, by that logic, very well be the same person!"

There was a reason Edgeworth added that last statement, and it seemed to work, as Lana suddenly raised her head when she heard it, as if an invisible switch had been turned in her mind and she was beginning to realize something. For a moment, it seemed as if she would ball her hands to fists. Then, however, just as quickly as the changes in her expression and movement had come, they disappeared again and Lana, once more, lowered her head.

"Another person? Ridiculous. Nobody could have entere-"

"This was already disproven, Ms. Skye," Edgeworth disagreed. "There was a person present who could have opened the door lock with ease: Dylan Sengage and, by extension, Lilie Heatherd. Making use of his talents."

Lana shook. Her thumbnail was between her teeth, her other hand still at her scarf. Throwing glances at me from time to time.

"…There was no one else," she kept claiming. "Nobody except for Ema and me entered the apartment at the time of the crime. I know this for sure. This hypothetical person you speak of does not exist."

"You know it for sure? Just like you knew what object Ema was struck with? Or that the knife used in the murder was not the same one as the one in the Court Record? Just how you knew about the lack of running water in the apartment at the time? Or the missed calls recorded on your cellphone?"

The more Edgeworth spoke to Lana, the more often she glanced in my direction. Finally, I returned her looks with my own serious expression.

"Ms. Skye," I told her. "Really, I don't understand why you are doing this. And I don't really care for the reason either. All I know is that everyone here can plainly see that you didn't murder your sister. Stop denying it. I am not going to help you to get yourself sentenced for a crime you clearly didn't commit."

In that one moment after I had said this, Lana seemed to be two things. Helpless and… puzzled.

"Mr. Wright… You…"

She never said more than that, but fell silent right after.

"There are simply too many things you didn't know, Ms. Skye," Edgeworth told her while she was still looking into my direction, surprising her. She slowly turned as he kept talking. "Whether or not you were 'in your right mind' at the time the murder happened, many things you stated turned out to be incorrect and simply recited from previous statements in this trial. In fact, most of your knowledge of the case seems to be a simple patchwork of things that were previously said. I seriously wonder if you actually saw any part of the incident with your own eyes."

_(Lana… please take back that confession,) _was all I thought to myself. _(This is helping nobody, can't you see that? And until you take back that confession… There is nothing we can do to help you either. Please...)_

But she didn't seem to share that opinion.

"I… I saw it," Lana kept claiming, as her whole body shook. Her voice faltered. "I was there. I was there… with Ema… It was me who…k…k-killed…"

_**GOTCHA!**_

Yes.

That's exactly what I heard. That word, loud, clearly echoing through the entire room. It cast the courtroom into a silence for just a moment, before slowly, everyone turned to find the source of the shout. Really, everyone turned. Edgeworth, the Judge, the audience in the gallery… everyone.

Somehow, I am still rather sure I was the first one to have my eyes at the right spot. Maybe because the second the yell happened… I just knew where it had come from. And I wasn't mistaken. Up in the gallery, standing straight, one hand balled to a fist, the other one outstretched with the pointing finger aimed straight at Lana – if I think about it, he was clearly imitating my pose there, but I really didn't care much for that kind of copyright-infringement at that moment – was the same boy who had already caused a small commotion earlier. Apollo. And just like before, his eyes were so scarily focused on Lana, it send a cold sensation down my spine. This wasn't a kind of look any kid should be able to give you. By his side, the little Trucy, who had jumped out of her seat as well, was standing, looking just as pumped as him, both of her hands balled into fists as if she wanted to punch the stupid out of Lana. She, too, was glaring down at her.

"_Stop lying!_" Apollo yelled. "You keep saying that you were there and saw everything, but none of that is true, is it? You can't even utter her name in the same sentence as the word 'killing'! What are you trying to do, Miss? You are going to get yourself a life sentence or worse! And the victim was your sister… God! You think your sister would want that? Why are you doing this? This way, the real killer is never going to pay what he did to her! I mean… It's not like… I could claim that I knew what it's like to have a sister, but… but… _don't you want justice for her?_"

For a moment, Lana was stunned. She just stared up at the boy telling her off, her face rather blank. Finally, she looked away.

"Things are more complicated than that. You are just a kid. You can't understand that yet."

Apollo's eyes were downright fierce when he replied:

"Maybe I am just a kid… But that doesn't mean I can't tell right from wrong! Even I can plainly see that you're being stupid!"

Maybe there was more he wanted to yell at Lana. Maybe. I will never know. The Judge's gavel came down loudly three times while he was still talking, drowning out the boy's voice under its sound.

"Order! Order! _ORDER!_" The patience of the judge with Apollo had found its end. "I am sorry, but I warned you once before! This is a courtroom, not a school playground! Bailiff! Please take this boy out! He is to not enter the courtroom again until after the proceedings!"

Two bailiffs were up in the gallery faster than I'd have them expected to be, grabbing a rather distraught and surprised Apollo by his wrists. There was a bit of a struggle between the two parties, also thanks to Trucy, who had grabbed Apollo's shirt and was trying to pull him back, away from the men who had come to take him out.

"P-Polly!"

When Apollo realized that it was no use to resist and that he was going to leave this room, whether he wanted to or not, he turned towards me. He shouted:

"Mr. Wright!"

I looked up at him, listening to what the boy had to say. Apollo tried to resist being dragged out for just a bit longer.

"That… That woman! Every time she claims that she knew or saw what happened, she's _tugging her scarf_!"

I blinked in surprise. Tugging her… scarf? I hadn't noticed anything like that.

Apparently, my face made it rather obvious that I was thinking just that, as Apollo kept shouting:

"It's really subtle! She's just tensing her muscles for a split second. I didn't realize right away either, but… I saw it! Twice in a row! I don't know what it means, but there's something she wants to hide so badly, she gets even more excited when she lies about it! That just has to be it, please, believe me! I really saw it!"

I couldn't help but stare. Just tensing her muscles a split second? If that was true, there was no way he could have seen that! Not that quickly, not from all the way up there. And still… there was such a deep sincerity in his voice, I just felt that he wasn't just making it up. Neither did Psyche Locks appear, not even vaguely. He really meant it. I had no idea how…

I remembered back to the day before, when I had met him and to what he had said in the bus. How he could _feel people who weren't honest._

_(This boy… just… who is he…?)_

He finally gave up struggling when the bailiffs threatened to use handcuffs and, reluctantly, walked along with them. Trucy clung to his uniform a bit longer until he turned around to her and smiled, as if to assure her that he was going to be fine. Hesitantly, the little girl let go and stepped back as the two men in uniform led her friend out.

The door closed behind Apollo and the bailiffs and silence returned to the courtroom. A rather demotivated-looking Trucy returned to her seat, not making a sound and the people in the gallery, one by one, turned their attention back to the actual happenings of the trial…

Except nothing was really happening. Lana just stood in the middle of the room, the eyes of Edgeworth, the Judge and myself all on her. She looked even more shaken than before, but still made no attempt to take her confession back.

A quiet tension hung in the room for a short while. It was only about a minute later that Edgeworth finally broke this uncomfortable silence.

"Disturbance or not. I find it… rather interesting, I suppose."

Lana slowly turned her head into Edgeworth's direction, as if to ask him what he meant.

"What this boy told us just now," Edgeworth stated. "About a secret… that you are hiding with your scarf."

And then, Lana jerked. Wordlessly, not even making a sound, she just jerked. I felt confirmed with my feeling that the boy had been right. There _was _something Lana was hiding on… on her neck, maybe?

The Judge did not seem to see the meaning of Apollo's words quite as quickly as Edgeworth did.

"Mr. Edgeworth. Does this scarf hold any relevance to the case?"

"I have a suspicion," Edgeworth just replied before turning to Lana again. "Ms. Skye, if I might kindly ask you to remove your scarf?"

Lana didn't even react. She seemed deep in thoughts not really aware of what was happening anymore… or what to do.

I raised my voice:

"Ms. Skye, please take that scarf off."

Silence. Lana just turned her head and looked at the floor.

"I… see no reason to," she uttered.

"If you won't remove it yourself, I'll see myself forced to ask the court for permission to do it in your stead," Edgeworth said. "No matter what you do, Ms. Skye, that scarf will not remain in place."

Lana didn't move or say anything for a while. She just silently kept looking at the floor. Then, finally, a few seconds later, she moved her hands up to her neck. She undid the knot on her beige muffler and let it drop to the floor.

There was… nothing special on her neck.

The tension that had built up within me suddenly dropped in just a moment I felt my shoulders slump down. Nothing? There was nothing on her neck? I would say that I felt 'disappointed', but I don't quite think that's the right word for it. The Judge, too, seemed less than impressed by what the removal of the scarf had brought us. He skeptically looked down at Lana.

"Well. And… now?" he asked.

But Edgeworth didn't seem finished yet. Unlike the Judge and me, his expression had changed not a bit. Calmly, he moved over to Lana where her scarf had fallen. He placed herself right to her left, beside her and… slowly brushed away her hair. Lana did nothing to keep him from doing so. It was a quite unsettling scene to watch, to be honest, may it have been because of the silence, or because of how close Edgeworth had come to his client… Wasn't there a law against that? In any case, Edgeworth was now examining Lana's neck. It didn't even take a few seconds until a smile began to form on his lips.

"Ms. Skye," he asked, stepping back from her, "Could you explain to me what exactly this small hole is doing in your skin?"

My attention rose. A hole…!

"It's a bite mark," Lana claimed. "I was bitten by a mosquito. Is that so unusual?"

"A mosquito bite? Is this really what it is?" Edgeworth asked as he started to return to his desk. "Because actually… I believe something entirely different caused this wound."

"Edgeworth…" I looked at the man on the other side of the room. "Do you think she was hit by…?"

"What?" The Judge looked down. "Could somebody explain to me what Mr. Edgeworth is talking about? What is so special about a little bite mark?"

Edgeworth, already holding something in his hand, turned towards the Judge. "Your Honor, I believe that I might be able to show you the 'mosquito', which caused this 'bite mark,' here and now."

"You can?"

"Yes, I can. Because the object which caused Ms. Skye's small wound was, in fact…"

**TAKE THAT!**

"The dart…" I said, while Edgeworth was still in the process of presenting his notes of the evidence that I had shown him the other day.

He nodded. "The dart you found at the scene of the crime. Since Ema was rendered unconscious with a blow to the back of her head, there should have been no reason to aim such a dart at her. However… what if this dart wasn't shot at her… but someone else?"

"Hm…" I had brought out the dart from my Court Record already, to take a closer look at it. "The needle is thick… thick enough to leave a mark that would last a bit longer than just a day..."

_(If it matches up with the size of the hole in her skin…!)_

I looked up from the dart over to Edgeworth.

"So you are saying that the dart's actual target was… the defendant?"

_(That makes sense. The dart was found several feet away from Ema… If Lana was rendered unconscious with a narcotic, then moved into the bathroom, the dart could have fallen out on the way. But where had she been sho-)_

And suddenly, I understood why everything Lana has said so far had just been recounting previous witnesses' testimonies. It all made sense. Now, it made sense.

"Yes," Edgeworth replied to me. "If the defendant was rendered unconscious with this dart and a narcotic and not due to a fall, unlike previously assumed, it would explain all the discrepancies in her explanation."

I leaned forwards, slowly nodding my head. "I see… She was asleep the entire time… even before Ema ever arrived at the apartment."

I turned my head to Lana. "You were shot with the dart before you entered the apartment, weren't you? Right… Your keycard was probably in your handbag as well! You couldn't even have entered by yourself! Ema… You never even met her that afternoon, did you?"

Lana was trying her best to evade both Edgeworth's and my glares. Finally, she stated, "…This is enough, Mr. Edgeworth."

She looked up. "I did not hire an attorney to be badgered at the stand with wild claims like this. I… am revoking my own right to an attorney."

_(She's pulling this again…!)_

"Ms. Skye… no… Lana! It's over!" I told her. "Even if Edgeworth doesn't prove your innocence, it still won't change that I won't let this trial end until the actual killer has been found! Come to your senses and stop trying to make yourself into the scapegoat!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Wright," she replied, looking in an entirely different direction. "I am merely taking responsibility. That is all."

Edgeworth was silent. He didn't try to argue with Lana, or talk her out of it. Instead, however, he turned to me.

"Wright."

I directed my attention at him.

"Give the dart to the forensic scientists for analysis," he told me. "The narcotic that was used on Ms. Skye might have been rather strong. Should there still be traces of it left on the needle, a test on a sample of her blood might be enough to prove that she was hit by it."

"You are wasting your time."

It was Lana, and her voice sounded cold and factual. "You won't find anything, even if you take a blood sample from me. There is no use to it."

I sighed. She was not going to change her mind, was she?

"Ms. Skye…"

"_Scientifically speaking, she is right."_

My ears perked. I was hearing a voice again. One that wasn't Edgeworth's, nor Lana's, nor the Judge's. I wasn't the only one who heard it. The entire courtroom was turning once again, except this time, they weren't turning towards a spot in the gallery, but rather… the door.

My mind was about to think _'That can't be!' _but then I reminded it of how many things in this world I had found could, in fact, _'be'_, so I just looked at the door, where a girl with long, black hair, wearing a Kimono, was standing.

"Everyone's body breaks down different substances with a different speed," the girl stated with a certain fascination in her voice. "It's been about sixty-eight hours since the incident, right? Chances are that the traces of the narcotic might have vanished by now, depending on Lana's body. The difference is because- ehm… I kinda forgot that. But that's not too important. Still, you should get the dart analyzed. Because if there _are _traces of the narcotic left on it, that would mean that somebody _was _hit by it and fell asleep! And since that couldn't have been the victim, since she was hit on the head, it must have been Lana, right?"

People's reactions to the girl's sudden appearance were very diverse. For the gallery, there was whispering, chatting, wondering who she was and where she had come from and why she was interrupting the trial like this. Edgeworth's reaction was silence, his face not showing any particular emotion. He didn't seem like he had expected this, but not overly surprised either. Maybe half-surprised is the right word? As for me, I was more surprised than Edgeworth, at least a bit.

Lana's reaction, however, was very different. She froze. The moment she heard the voice, she turned into a statue, not moving, not twitching… I'm not even sure if she was breathing.

And as for the Judge…

"Um… Miss Fey?" There was a strange mixture of bewilderment and annoyance at the continued interruptions in his face, "I find it nice of you that you want to share your deductions with us, but… You are currently not being questioned. So if you would please return to your seat…?"

"Hey! Who are you calling 'fey' here, Your Honor?" The girl took a few steps forward, clearly unhappy about what the Judge had said. "You know, I haven't had a chance to testify even once yet! And I find that pretty weird, given how I am the focus of this entire trial! …Scientifically speaking, of course."

She got a wide-eyed, confused look for a reply. "…The focus? Ehh…Who exactly are you, young lady?"

The Judge's question was about to be answered. Not by the girl. But by Lana.

Lana, who was now very, very slowly beginning to turn around, bit by bit, until she was facing the girl.

Her body was shaking like crazy. Her breathing was irregular and loud enough to be heard. And then finally, after a while of Lana staring… just staring at the girl in the door before her, she finally, with effort, managed to cough out a word:

"E…E-Em…a…?"

And the girl's face changed when she saw the woman like that. Slowly, her previously normal, childish expression vanished, changing into a painfully forced smile.

"…Hello, Sis."

A blank-faced Lana Skye broke down to her knees and cried without a sound.

* * *

_This semester was so full of fail. Not on part of the University (I still love my studies), but on my own part. I am not even sure I passed, but… At least have holidays now. Time enough to finally get this fanfic kicking again!_

_Yes, I know, I promised this chapter would end the trial, but it turned long and longer and ultimately I decided that this was a good spot to end it. Though, I swear, the next chapter is finally gonna close it. There's not even gonna be any more crossexaminations. Just the end of this section of the trial._

_This chapter featured two events I have been wanting to write badly ever since I first started this fanfic: Apollo showing off his perceiving powers from the gallery (As to how he did that: There's a reason I placed Trucy next to him, you know. ) and Ema appearing channeled to save her sister. I was so excited when I wrote those parts, I kept making typos. ^^; Heh…_

_I hope Edgeworth invading Lana's personal space wasn't too suggestive… I just kinda thought that would make for good tension. The scene before resembling the part of Turnabout Corners where Alita Tiala is asked to remove her scarf is a coincidence. I only realized the similarities while writing it._

_Again, if you have any questions, go to the tumblr-blog. I may take a while to respond, but, trust me, I will._

_Now, for something more exciting:_

_GS5! GOSH, I cannot describe my feelings at this announcement! Heavens have opened up before us and are inviting us in with Nectar and Ambrosia!_

_Though… I am a bit worried that the game might end up starring Nick, rather than Apollo, thanks to all the Fanboy bickering. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Nick (As this Fanfic can testify), but I doubt there is much one can still do to further develop his character after AJ, unless they go full out and retcon AJ, which, I am honest, might turn me off Capcom and all their games forever, since that would be a cowardly, horrible, idiotic move._

_Also, I want to see poor Apollo and Trucy developed a bit more. They never really had a chance to shine as characters. A bit of respect and limelight… That is all I want for them. Please, Capcom. Don't deny them that._

_P.S.: Did you see that new artwork of the entire GS Cast (Where Mia and Kay are conspicuously missing…)? Apollo is so SHORT! I mean, look at him! He's almost as short as Maya! Suddenly, I understand all those complexes he has… and wonder why Klavier didn't call him "Herr Shorty". X_


	28. Dissonance

"L…Lana!"

When the legs of the woman in the witness stand grew weak, the girl in the door immediately leaped forwards towards her. She acted so quickly, it was almost like she had anticipated Lana's fall in advance. But such was sisterly love, I guess. Ema wasn't going to just let Lana fall like that. Whether Lana wanted to or not. That was the whole reason she was here, right?

The moment Ema was in her sister's reach, she grabbed both of Lana's hands and kept her from sinking down any further than into her knees.

"Hey! Lana! Sis, are you alright?"

Lana gave no reply, but her eyes spoke so much more than any words could have ever said. A strange cocktail of emotions was being mixed behind them, more and more ingredients being added as the seconds passed. Surprise, bliss, sadness, fear… They all seemed to clash and fight for dominance behind Lana's expression. I couldn't describe what this looked like, even if I tried. All I could do was tell what Lana did when Ema looked her straight in the eyes like that, both her hands holding the hands of the older woman. Still looking like she was in a kind of trance, Lana slowly raised both her arms… and then let her hands rest on Ema's shoulders. It was then that Ema, understanding that her sister was in no state to talk, let go of her and instead, too, put her palms on Lana's shoulders. And then they looked at each other. Neither of them seemed to even consider leaving their eyes off the other

Still a bit later, Lana let her head sink after all, causing a melancholic expression to appear on Ema's face. The silence between them was finally ended by the latter.

"Sis… I'm sorry… I screwed up… " Ema began to apologize slowly. "Even though you warned me… And told me to be careful all the time…"

Lana still wasn't talking. Instead, her body started trembling in a noticeable way. There were sounds coming from her face, which was obscured by strands of hair hanging down. Was she sobbing? Small teardrops falling down to the floor where she was kneeling seemed to support this idea…

Ema lowered herself to be on eye height with her sister, even though there was no way to actually look her in the eyes right now. I noticed how Lana then tightened her grip on Ema's shoulders.

"Sis… Sis, please don't cry..."There was a pleading tone in Ema's voice, as if she was going to start crying herself. "I… I don't want you to… I-I mean… I know it's selfish, but… If you cry, I…"

Ema paused. Lana had tightened her hands around her shoulders again, and this time it was more noticeable. Her arms shook, as if she was afraid to slip and let go by accident. As if what she was holding onto would disappear if she let go. Her sobbing was now loud enough to be clearly identified as such. Ema said nothing further. She probably just had no idea what to say.

Naturally, the courtroom was entirely silent throughout all of this. Who would have dared to say something in this situation, even if they had any idea ofwhat to say at all? I know that I had none. So I just kept quiet and watched them.

When Ema had come in, the Judge had apparently confused her with Maya – given his age, no wonder. He probably had gone by her height and rough attire alone. Taking a good look at her, however, it wasn't hard to tell whose body she really inhabited right now. Her hair had no fringe- she had obviously fumbled around with it to get it into a shape she preferred, though – and I could make out the remains of some hastily opened braids in her hair. The Kimono she wore was in a distinct, pink color and the Magatama on her necklace was purple… This was Iris' body, no doubt about it. A look up into the gallery, where Dahlia was now sitting alone, her hands resting in her lap, folded, reassured me of this. Iris had done it. She had managed to channel Ema's spirit after all. But, in the end, who was channeling her wasn't what mattered, right? What mattered was that Ema was here among us now, with Lana. Even though both of them seemed rather overwhelmed by what was happening… Who could blame them?

A few minutes probably passed like this, until the Judge finally said something,

"…What is going on here?" he asked. "Are the Defendant and this girl… acquaintances?"

I took a short look at the Judge and then I looked back to Ema and Lana. I looked back to the Judge again when I knew what to do,

"Your Honor… I think we should take a twenty minutes recess now, if you allow it."

Edgeworth on the other side of the courtroom nodded_._

"Yes, that would seem to be the best option right now. The Defense, too, would like to ask the court for a recess of twenty minutes."

The Judge let his eyes wander across the room, letting them rest on the Skye sisters for a considerable time before he finally nodded and banged his gavel twice.

"Alright. The court will take a twenty minute recess now to give the Defendant some time to regain her composure. We will proceed with the cross-examination afterwards. Court is now adjourned."

**May 3nd, 1:20pm  
District Court  
Defendant Lobby No 2**

I found myself nervously pacing up and down in front of the Defendant Lobby, following Maya's previous advice to not just enter lobbies that I am not supposed to enter, when just that same Maya came rushing by, grabbing me by my arm, asking me what I am doing just standing there. Then she ran on and dragged me into that very same lobby. So much for consistency.

"Miles! How are they? What did Ema say? Did she ask Ms. Skye to take her confession back?" Maya had already flooded Edgeworth with questions before I had even the chance to say anything.

Edgeworth was, of course, far calmer about the situation than Maya was,

"I left Ms. Skye and her sister alone, so they can talk about everything in peace," he said, making a quick gesture to the other side of the room, where Ema and Lana were sitting on a sofa. They didn't seem to be talking as much as just looking at each other so far_, _though. Still, maybe that was going to change.

"I thought it might be good to give the two of them some time to – how to say it – '_let it sink in_'…"

"I'm sure they need that_,_" I started. "This whole thing was sure unexpected… for me, too."

"Why? Isn't it exactly like you had said you hoped it would be?" I looked up when Edgeworth said that, as he explained to me, "After all, it was you who said that having Dahlia here might help her to overcome the inner blockades that kept her from executing the channeling correctly."

"O-Oh…" Suddenly, the whole reason I had asked Gumshoe to bring Mia and Dahlia here dawned on me again. "Right… I didn't even think of that anymore."

Maya laughed, "You're really forgetful_, _Nick! Do you even still remember what you had for breakfast this morning?"

"Hey, I just didn't really expect it to work! At least not just now…"

_(And I'd rather not respond to the breakfast question…)_

"In any case," Edgeworth made an attempt to keep this conversation's topic from derailing. "Ema being here now opens up a new palette of possibilities for this case.

"Yes… If she saw her murderer…!"

I could feel my right hand curl into a fist. If Ema told us who killed her, this case was closed and over. We would know exactly what happened, apprehend the killer, bring them to justice_,_ and end this. It was all so very easy... Too easy. I couldn't help it, but… _S_omething in the back of my head kept telling me that it wasn't going to work out like this. Somehow, from somewhere anobstacle would come and hinder us. That's how it always was. Still, there was this tiny bit of hope that my experience would betray me and I tried to nurture it. After all, we had come so far_;_ literally nobody really believed that Lana was the killer any longer. What could possibly still mess up this case now?

"Maya! Miles! Mr. Wright!"

I turned around when I heard the familiar voice call. From the Lobby's entrance, two people were coming towards us.

"Mia, Dahlia!" Maya laughed from my side, and her greeting was responded to by a laugh from Dahlia_._

"Maya! Did you see that? Iris did it! She actually managed to channel that girl's spirit!"

There was such an honestly happy, sincere smile on the young woman's face that it was, quite frankly, hard for me to look at her like this. I tried to subtly keep my eyes off her, while Maya took a step forward to answer the question.

"Yeah, I did! It's amazing!" Maya bounced a bit when she replied. "I knew she could do it! All along!"

Meanwhile, a satisfied looking Mia smiled as she approached our little group. "By the way, that was good work out there, Mr. Edgeworth, Mr. Wright." She said,_ "_The loose threads you found and tied up should have convinced even the most skeptical viewer that there is more to this case than it initially looked like."

"Yeah, at the very least I'm sure Lana is out of danger now," I nodded, glad to have found a reason to look at Mia rather than her cousin. "Though, that still leaves the issue of how exactly it happened and who did it."

Maya skipped in-between us.

"So? And where's the problem there? I mean, Ema's here now. If anybody can tell us what happened, it's her!"

"Assuming that Ema Skye actually saw her killer, of course," Edgeworth reminded her. "Remember, she was struck on the back of her head. For all we know, she might have never caught a glimpse of her murderer."

"Hm…. Yes, right_._" I bit my lip. "It could be that Ema didn't see who did it…"

I lowered my head. Ema knowing her killer's identity... That was really too simple to be true, right? Then, on the other hand, I had a kind of 'feeling'... It was then that something came back to me, an important thing that I had almost forgotten somewhere over the course of the past two days. My head immediately rose againwhen I remembered what it was.

"Wait… I think Ema _did _see who killed her!"

"Hm?" Edgeworth turned his attention to me. "What do you mean, Wright?"

In my excitement, I started making huge gestures with my arms as I tried to explain to the others just what had just come to me that moment.

"When Ema died... Just a moment before her heart stopped beating, she woke up one last time and spoke to me. She was barely conscious… it was hard to make out what she was trying to say…"

"She woke up… You mean she was still alive!" This came from Dahlia. One hand at her chest, she seemed rather distraught by what I had just said.

"Just barely, but, yes. She was alive."

Dahlia turned her head, looking at the floor, "Oh god… That's just…!"

"…If she woke up… She must have been in horrible pain...!" Maya said, not looking much better than her cousin.

I heard Mia sigh, "Maybe it'd be better ifwe didn't talk about it too much. She and Lana might hear us over there… And this is really the last thing we need to remind Ema of."

Edgeworth nodded, "Still, I am interested. What is it that makes you so sure Ema saw the person who killed her?"

I lowered my head, "A moment before Ema's heart stopped beating, I asked her if she knew who put her in that state. And…"

"_P-Ph-Phoenix… I-I'm so… s-sorry… Th-they took… it…"_

"_Took? Took what? Who did this to you?"_

"_The… black… hair…"_

"_..What?"_

"So Ema _was_ robbed," Mia concluded. "And, what's more important…"

I gave her a nod_._ "Yeah. She must have caught a glimpse of who did it. Black hair…"

"But… Doesn't that rule out the Doughnut Girl then?" The moment Maya said this, I felt myself jerking. She had voiced just what I had been avoiding to think about, but I knew that she was right, of course.

Maya went on, "I mean, if Ema saw a black-haired person… It couldn't have been that girl, right?"

"Lilie Heatherd's hair is blonde," Edgeworth agreed. "If Ema actually saw a person with black hair the moment she was stabbed, that couldn't have been Heatherd."

"But… That makes no sense!" I tried to argue, "If it wasn't Heatherd, who else could it have been?"

"Hm…"

Edgeworth fell silent. His arms crossed and his eyes closed, he seemed to be trying to make sense of the situation. It didn't look much different with Mia.

"There were plenty of people with black hair near the crime scene, but none who could have actually committed the crime. It also couldn't have been anyone Ema knew too well, or she would have told you the name, rather than give you a vague description, " Mia explained, with a pondering expression, before her face turned a bit softer. "Hm. We should probably ask her herselfabout those things... No use running in circles."

Edgeworth seemed to agree,

"No matter from what angle it is viewed, with the information we have, the logic does not flow. There has to be a faulty piece of information among it, another explanation does not exist. But, yes, I agree. We should wait and see what Ema has to say. Also, there is something I have to talk about with Detective Gumshoe… Where is he anyway? Shouldn't he be with the two of you?"

"Oh…" Dahlia seemed to have been reminded of something. "The Detective… had to leave, I think."

I turned my head, "He had to leave?"

Mia laughed from the side, "It's nothing bad_;_ he just got a call. Apparently, someone from the cafeteria personnel wanted to come and watch the trial after her shift was over, but ended up getting stuck in the elevator. The Detective just went to make sure they fixed the defect, so she can leave."

"Are you sure it was just someone from the cafeteria?" Dahlia asked Mia with a puzzled face, "He didseem rather, well… hysterical when hegot the call. And who calls a detective in a situation like this anyway?"

Somehow, I had a feeling I knew very well just who had gotten stuck in that elevator.

There was no time to ponder about the misadventures of Detective Gumshoe and friends, however, as we were about to be joined by yet another person. A rather furious sounding person.

"Mr. Edgeworth! _Mr. Wright!_"

I did not like the extra-emphasis placed on my name. I did not like it at all.

Before I knew it, Lana Skye – a rather alarmed-looking Lana Skye at that – was standing right before me, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere, looking down _–_she's a rather tall woman_ – _onto me. Did I already mention that she was glaring at me? Combined with her height, this was sure to set a cold shower down my spine. Most of all, however, she seemed shocked. As if she had just been told that she'd be fired, thrown out of her house_,_ and forced to live on the streets. Her hand was holding the hand of another person, Ema, who was still in her channeled form and looking rather uncomfortable with what her sister was doing at the moment.

"Lana…" she whispered, as if to tell her to cut it out. 'Cut it out', however, she did not.

"You people!" Lana began to hiss at us, "What did you _do _to my sister?"

Of course, I had no idea what she meant. Accordingly, I only gave her an 'I have no idea what you mean'-kind of look. Maya, however, found a few more words.

"It's called 'Spirit Channeling'!" she said, sounding like a shampoo commercial. "The spirit of the called person is drawn into the body of the medium and temporarily takes it over. That is perfectly normal."

Maya's enthusiastic, smiling face was about to be smashed by a sonic boom in the form of Lana Skye's yelling voice.

"_So_? Is it also perfectly normal that she can't remember _her own name_?"

And like a shampoo commercial which had been cut off in the middle, Maya's reply was reduced to an equally cut-off sounding syllable.

"W-Wha…?"

It was then that Ema herself decided to take the word.

"You're making it sound like I couldn't remember my name at all!" she commented in a rather offended way, just before she started grinning reassuringly. "It's just our last name! Just because there are some itty bitty details that slipped me, it doesn't mean I'm in trouble, right? I mean, I even still know that there's an S in there! ... Somewhere."

I blinked at the scene, not entirely sure what its meaning was. My eyes went back and forth between looking at Ema and looking at Lana.

_(So, Ema can't remember the name 'Skye'? How did that happen…?)_

"It's _not_ just our name," Lana argued against what Ema had claimed, turning towards us once more, "Mr. Wright, Mr. Edgeworth, I was talking to her! There are several crucial things from her life she doesn't remember! She cannot recall her favorite food, our father's name, the name of this city or my profession-"

"But I _can _recall my favorite animal, our mother's name, the names of all neighboring cities and the profession I am planning to take!" Ema refuted with an optimistic smile. "Given my circumstances, I think that counts as being 'comparably fine', right?"

Lana seemed to disagree.

"I _demand_ an explanation!"

And she put a lot of emphasis on the word 'demand'. I saw that as a reason to go and try to do… something. I didn't have much of a plan there, but, then again, when did I ever?

"Ehm, well, Ema… Do you have any idea why you can't remember those things?" I asked awkwardly.

Ema just grinned, "Nope, not really! I just came to and kinda realized that some stuff was missing, Fee—uhm… F…Feen…"

"Phoenix," I completed the word for her.

"Oh, right! Phoenix Wright. I knew there was a "Fee" in there somewhere!"

"Hm…Seems like your friends were becoming forgetful too, Nick," Maya commented in a surprisingly casual tone. "Maybe I should keep a bit of a distance from now on?"

I rolled my eyes. "You really think that this is a good situation to joke about, Maya?"

"Well… Ema was dealt a rather strong blow to the head," Edgeworth was thinking aloud, starting a far better attempt to explain the girl's amnesia than mine had been. "Of course, I am not all too well informed in spiritual matters, but… Perhaps the aftereffects of the trauma carried over?"

Mia, however, sighed. "Actually, I think there's a different reason for this… Ah… I was kind of afraid of it already…"

"A different reason? What kind of reason?" I asked, causing Mia to cross her arms and explain.

"It's Iris' lack of spiritual potential. She probably didn't have enough power to fully contain Ema's spirit while suppressing her own consciousness enough to allow her to take control of her body. And this… is the result."

"So, you're saying some of my memories stayed behind beyond, Ms. Fey?" Ema asked, looking skeptically. "Hm… scientifically speaking, memories are a too metaphysical thing to prove such a theory…"

"Ehm, Ema, I think the whole you is rather 'metaphysical' by that point," I couldn't help but comment.

Ema grinned and turned towards me.

"Yes, I guess so. That, and I am breaking the law of conservation of mass right now!" Somehow, her voice seemed kind of proud when she said that, even though I have no idea why. There was this curious, eager glow in her eyes again that I only knew from Ema . "After all, the woman channeling me is that girlfriend of yours, correct? She is quite a bit taller than me. Yet I am down at my usual size! How is this possible? Where did the remaining matter go? Was it compressed? Oh, so many unexplained things to explain…"

_(Somebody should keep an eye on this girl, so she doesn't start experimenting on herself.)_

It was good to see Ema as her usual, cheerful and interested self, though also somewhat unsettling, given she was just shrugging off the loss of quite a few of her memories. And the fact that she was, well, _dead_.

"So, if her lack of memory is a side-effect of the channeling," Lana began to ask, clearly addressing Mia. She sounded calmer, but still worried. "…I hope it isn't permanent?"

Mia just smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, Lana, I'm pretty sure that Ema's memory will be back to normal once she leaves Iris' body. Compare it to this: Just because there are interferences on TV, it doesn't mean the broadcast itself has an error, right?"

"I… see…" Lana, finally being able to relax a bit, let out a deep, relieved sigh. I was surprised she managed to do that much. Ema's memory being restored upon leaving Iris' body meant that even if it happened, Lana would not be able to speak to her anymore once this was the case. And least of all restoring her memory give her Ema back for good, but… Perhaps she just loved her sister so much, she wanted to make sure she was well whatever state she was in. Whether among the living or not.

"It's just a few details I can't recall, really!" Ema kept claiming. By now, I understood perfectly well that she was doing this solely in order to lighten the mood among us. "And, seriously, who needs trivial things like those when I can still name all the elements of the periodic table! …Except that yellowish, shiny one that they used to make coins out of… Uhm… What was it called again…?"

"The inaccessible memories seem to be pretty random," Mia noticed.

Dahlia gave a nod, "At least she still knows how to walk and talk… That is something…"

'Something', yes. Still there was one thought in my head that I just couldn't shake.

_(I have a bad feeling about this...)_

"Anyway, it's… good to see you, Ema. Really. Welcome back," I told her, the unpleasant knowledge that this was only going to be temporary in the end still in the back of my head. "Say… Could you tell me something, maybe?"

The girl turned towards me, "Yes?"

I took a deep breath and started explaining, "I really don't want to dig up any bad memories, but… You _do_ still remember what happened the afternoon you were… killed… right?"

The reply came surprisingly enthusiastically.

"Sure, I remember that!" she exclaimed, her hands balled to fists. "You don't just forget it when someone smashes you in the head with a baseball bat!"

"A b-baseball bat…?"

_(That's a bit detailed…!)_

While I was still puzzled as to how Ema could possibly know what kind of object had hit her from behind, she – apparently reading the look on my face – was already replying, "The blow took me out, but not for that long. I opened my eyes and I think I remember catching a glimpse of a baseball bat then… Something else too, but… Everything's kind of a blur. Still if that baseball bat was really there, the chance that it was the blunt weapon I was hit with is rather high, isn't it?"

"And… when you were stabbed? Do you still remember who stabbed you, Ema?"

"Mr. Wright!" Lana went in-between us, her scolding eyes on me. "You can't just ask her something like this so-"

Ema, however, didn't seem to mind, "Hm… Stabbed…? Oh, right that was mentioned in the trial. Yeah, I was stabbed…"

"You don't remember…?" I guessed. It was just like I had feared.

"Not too well," she admitted. "I know about the blow to the head, but the stab I really can't remember. But maybe I was just unconscious throughout the entirety of that…"

"I don't think so. You were talking to me before you died,"

"Oh!" Ema turned towards me, "I was? You were there?"

"Yes and yes," I told her, sighing. So much for asking Ema who killed her. Why had I known that I wasn't going to be so easy? "You were trying to tell me who dealt you the deadly wound, but were… cut off before you could tell me more than that they had black hair."

Ema had crossed her arms now, "Hm… No, I don't remember that at all. Not in the least. Though, that would mean I saw who did it… Black Hair? Uhm… wait! That's kind of… Ringing a bell, I think."

I looked up. Suddenly, reassurance. If Ema still kind of remembered her mention of the black hair, it at least meant that she had really meant it and hadn't just been talking deluded nonsense under the effects of the blood loss.

"In any case," she said as shelet her head sink, "even if I should have seen who attacked me at some point, right now, I can't remember anymore… I am sorry."

"Alright, let's try something else then," I said. "What were you doing at my apartment that day in the first place? Did you have a specific reason for visiting me?"

"Huh?" Ema reacted confused to this question, "But Phoenix, you were the one who said we should meet at your place! You said it was less likely to arouse suspicion than meeting at our place!"

"Uhm…"

Maybe this was a question I shouldn't have asked. Out of ideas, I just remained silent and bit my lip. It was Lana who, giving me a shifty look, kept the conversation from dying in a way I hadn't expected,

"Mr. Wright… Ema is not the only one not in full possession of her memory around here, correct?"

Hearing her sister's words, Ema's eyes opened wide in surprise, "Huh?"

So Lana had noticed too…? Was I really that easy to read?

Meanwhile, Edgeworth had already begun to smirk, "Sharp as ever, Ms. Skye. Yes, indeed, Mr. Wright, too, is currently struggling with his memory a bit. Though… He is not hiding it all too well, so perhaps figuring it out isn't too much of a feat."

"H-Hey!"

I didn't know what offended me more. Edgeworth's comment or the fact that it was so close to what I had been thinking myself. Of course, he didn't stay my only reason to take offense to something in this room, at very least not for long.

Mia joined in on Edgeworth's explanation, laughing, "Well, Lana, Mr. Wright here actually can't '_remember'_ quite a lot right now, you see."

"Yes, I guess you could say, Nick's not 'all there' at the moment," Maya added cheerfully.

_(I feel __**so**__ supported and respected…) _was the comment that I just barely managed to keep to myself.

"So… _Y_ou forgot all about the reason we were meeting in the first place?" Ema asked, looking worried. Strangely, she also seemed disappointed for some reason. I was going to find out why just a moment later, "But… You were going to finally explain everything to Lana and me! Don't tell me you forgot all about that, too?"

"…Everything?"

I knew that this question probably only undermined the unfortunate image of me that Edgeworth, Maya, and Mia had just given the Skye sisters. Still, I couldn't help asking it. It was a bit of a reflex. To Ema, in any case, my reply caused yet another, even more disappointed reaction. She let her head hang and sighed,

"…If you don't remember it anymore… That means we're never going to find out the truth now?"

"The truth? The truth about what?" I asked again.

Ema raised her head. She spoke slowly, "The truth… about what you were so afraid of."

I stayed silent and I looked straight at Ema. If I didn't know better, I'd say my heart may have skipped a beat here. But, on the other hand, I remember feeling my heartbeats so intensely for those few seconds, saying I had missed even one would be a lie for pretty prose's sake.

This… This was something I hadn't heard of at all yet. _'Afraid'… _I… No, him. The 'other Phoenix'... He had been 'afraid' of something? What did that mean? What did that have to do with anything? And… _W_hy did it feel like the answer to that last question was _'everything'_? A quick look I took through the people with me when Ema said this surprised me. Not only did Lana look away, her eyes focused on the floor, Edgeworth suddenly seemed to be deep in thought, Mia's eyes were closed and she bit her lip, and Maya… Maya had a look on her face as if she had suddenly realized something, as if a missing puzzle piece had been inserted into a picture in her head.

But I was left out completely on the revelation. I had no idea what it meant. And it made me anxious.

"What… What do you mean, Ema?" I was using her name, but, actually, the question was directed at everyone else here as well. "What do you know? I…"

But I wasn't given the time to go on and elaborate on my question. And even if any one of the people with me had been willing to reply to my question, they wouldn't have had the time to do so. From the door, the voice of a bailiff echoed through the room.

"Court will reconvene now. If the Defense and Prosecution would please reclaim their places in the courtroom?"

Everyone seemed like ripped out of a trance when those words reached us, slowly realizing that our recess was over. Lana was the one who seemed to have gotten accustomed to that thought the quickest,

"…Mr. Wright. We will speak about those things later," She slowly turned her head towards Edgeworth and me again. "For now, we need to end this trial… I spoke to Ema earlier…"

Lana's eyes now slid off. There was a sense of shame in her face as she spoke on, "I… apologize for hindering your progress up to now. I believed it to be the only way to protect your… hard work."

I listened up. More things I didn't understand.

_(…Work?)_

"However, Ema being with us now, as well as your apparent lack of memory changes things. In the light of the situation… I have decided to take back my confession."

"…!"

Finally. _Finally. _I could downright hear the angels sing their sweet Hallelujah when I heard those few words come out of Lana's mouth. Even though her eyes went serious and strict right on cue for her next line.

"…Still, we will have to act increasingly careful from now on."

I looked up, becoming more serious myself. Whatever it was Lana knew about that I didn't, it sounded rather troublesome.

Lana went on, "I cannot go into detail regarding our situation now, but after the trial Ema and me will explain to you what we know-"

"Uhm… Sis… I think you might have… to do that by yourself…"

That last line turned everyone's attention back to Ema. Since I had had my attention focused on her sister for the past few moments, I hadn't noticed, but, much to my – scratch that – everyone's horror, she seemed allbut well now. She was staggering, apparently dizzy, and her breathing sounded exhausted and irregular. One of her hands was at her forehead, as if she was suffering from a severe headache.

"E-Ema!" Lana tried to help her stand, fear in her eyes. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Ema's whole body, however, was shaking and it was becoming more and more obvious that it was, in fact, not 'her' body. Why? Well, because her appearance had now begun to slowly revert back to that of the person this body truly belonged to – Iris. Ema's shape grew more and more womanly and frail, her facial features started to change.

"Iris can't contain her any longer!" Mia realized, coming to Lana's aid to keep the girl in her arms from collapsing to the floor. Dahlia, too, came to help.

"Ungh… No… Not yet… I don't want to go yet…" Her voice's pitch was starting to break. "That's not… fair…Let me… stay…"

"Ema…!" Helpless, Lana had to watch how her sister was being ripped out of the world of the living once more. A blind person could have seen that she wanted nothing more this moment than to stop what was happening and stop it _quickly_, but… She knew there was no way. We all knew. And soon, Ema knew too.

"G-Guys!" Ema, already grown back to Iris' size by now, turned towards Edgeworth and me."The… The crime scene… I want to investigate there…! Please, call me there… somehow. I want to help…!"

"The crime scene?" I wasn't too sure if I really wanted to show her the spot she died so she could investigate it in detail with her blood still staining the floor and walls. "Ema..."

"I… I think I know something I can do…" By now, her voice barely sounded like Ema's anymore. "Please, bring me there…! _I really… want… to…"_

"Ema…" Lana had probably wanted to say more than just her sister's name. It's just that she likely couldn't find the right words. But Ema understood regardless. She managed one last smile.

"_S-See you later… Sis,"_ she tried to laugh. _"Don't do… anything stupid… while I'm gone, O…OK…?"_

And with that, Ema was gone.

I don't know how I could tell that this was exactly the point where she had left, given how gradual the transition had been – she had really struggled a lot not to be forced out of the Medium's body – but somehow, you could just feel that moment that Ema's presence was gone. And I wasn't the only one who felt it. The expressions in the faces of the others, especially in Lana's, told me that much. Carefully handing the unconscious Iris, who was now in her sister's arms, over to Mia and Dahlia, who immediately laid her to sleep on the close by sofa, Lana lowered her head. Yes, Ema was gone again. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much that thought must have been torturing Lana. What made it even worse, however, was that she had to go back to the courtroom now, without her sister's support.

"Ms. Skye…" I tried to address her as Edgeworth and I led her out of the Lobby, but I, too, did not know exactly what to say. Lana still gave me a response.

"Hmph… _'See you later'_, she said…" Finally, she raised her head a bit. "Ema… _S_uch a stubborn girl."

"She had a very good influence in that regard," Edgeworth replied. There was a slight smile on his lips.

"Hm." Lana gave him a short glance before turning her attention to the door to the courtroom. "She told me she wouldn't talk to me for the next three millennia if I let them declare myself 'guilty'…"

_(That's just like her,) _I thought to myself, mustering a smile. Lana, meanwhile, headed for the door.

"Mr. Wright. Mr. Edgeworth... Let us end this faux pas of a trial now."

Edgeworth and I just took a short look at each other. Then, we nodded. As Edgeworth began to follow after Lana out of the Lobby, I turned around one last time, calling a name.

"Maya?"

"Hm?" Maya took a few steps towards me, "Yes? Something up, Nick?"

"Actually, I just wanted to ask you if you'd maybe like to stand beside me in the bench of the prosecution for the last bit of the trial," I went on to ask.

"Huh? Me?" She seemed rather surprised, "Why?"

"No special reason," I admitted. "I just thought it might be nice to have someone with me out there…" _(Someone who's not hell-bent into scarring me for life via physical abuse…)_

The next thing that happened was that a big, excited smile appeared on Maya's face. "Sure! If you want to? Who knows, it might be fun!"

This reply gave me a feeling of… satisfaction. I was glad Maya had said yes. It wasn't like I was in dire need of help, of course. The trial was as good as over, with Lana about to set things straight, and it didn't look like anything else was going to come and stop this from working out just the way it was supposed to work out, either. Still, call it a 'force of habit', but I just felt 'safer' with Maya by my side. Having someone with her mindset there to comment on everything that happened was somehow just a good feeling. Maybe because it made me feel a bit saner myself amidst everything that was happening. Maybe because she wasn't afraid to point it out if I was doing something stupid myself. In any case, Maya in the spot beside me equaled normality. I was glad that I had been granted that bit of normality now.

"Alright. Let's go then," with a nod, I began walking towards the door to the courtroom, closely followed by Maya.

"But… you know," Maya spoke to me was we were on our way. "It's a bit of a pity. That Ema didn't manage to stay long enough to testify, I mean. She wanted to help so badly…"

"Even if Ema had stayed, she couldn't have testified," I replied.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because of her death, Ema lost her status as a juristic entity," I began to explain. "Or, in other words, to the law she doesn't exist anymore as a person. There is no way to have her testify under her own name and make it a valid part of the court protocol."

Maya seemed to be wondering something, "Hm… But she could testify in Iris' name… Right?"

"Yes, technically," I replied. "But I doubt that testimony would count as valid. Since Iris wasn't at the crime scene when the murder happened. And the fact that the witness would be testifying possessed by the spirit of a dead person is unlikely to be accepted by the court… Of course, there are always some exceptions."

I remembered the trial back in February. Dahlia's spirit had given a testimony and we were able to cross-examine this as usual. Though… The circumstances had been different. Dahlia had already been a witness in the trial for quite some time prior to the discovery of her identity – as 'Iris' – and also, the Judge had already known beforehand of the Kurain Channeling Technique_, _from Maya's case a year prior. Bringing Ema into this trial now would have probably proven itself to be a lot harder. And I doubt we would need it.

Lana was going to tell the truth. There was nothing else needed to end this.

**May 3nd, 13:45pm  
District Court  
Courtroom No 2**

"Court will now reconvene. I trust the Defense and Prosecution are ready?"

"The Prosecution is ready, Your Honor, "I nodded.

"This is so exciting!" Maya whispered to me from the side. "I'm sure I look really important, standing beside the prosecutor like this!"

"Not any more important than standing in the middle of a stage with all the spotlights on you," I told Maya. She just laughed.

"The Defense is ready," Edgeworth replied to the judge. "And so is the Defendant, for that matter."

"Well then." The Judge took a look over at Lana, who idly sat in her place, waiting to be called back to the stand. "I assume that means we can continue with her cross-examination, then?"

"…Actually, I believe this won't be necessary," Edgeworth said with a headshake. "You see, Your Honor… In the recess, the Defendant decided to change her testimony."

"Oh? She changed it?" The Judge asked. "Well, in that case, we should hear the new testimony before proceeding with the cross-examination… Only if the Prosecution allows the Defendant to change her testimony, of course."

"I have no objections," I replied.

"In that case…" The judge's gavel hit his desk. "Would the Defendant, Lana Skye, please return to the witness stand?"

Lana did as she was told, and was back in the stand in a matter of seconds.

"Ms. Skye," the judge addressed her. "The Defense claims you decided to change your testimony. Is this true?"

Lana nodded, "Not only did I decide to change my testimony… I am also revoking the confession to the murder of Ema Skye."

"Oh?" visibly interested, the judge listened up. "So, you are saying… You didn't kill her?"

She shook her head. "No. I did nothing of that sort. Neither would I have been capable of it, even if I had tried."

The crowd up in the gallery immediately began whispering and gossiping again; though, fortunately, it didn't sound like they didn't believe what Lana was saying. Rather, they seemed naturally confused over her sudden change in claims.

The Judge, too, seemed to share that sentiment. "Defendant. If you had nothing to do with the murder on your sister, then why did you initially confess to it?"

Lana's eyes slid off to the side, "Call it a… suicide attempt."

"S-Suicide…?" The _J_udge visibly backed off at that word and the chatting in the crowd grew more exited sounding. Lana, however, remained unfazed.

"Even if the attempt staged at the crime scene wasn't real, it is still true that my sister was the most precious thing I had in life," she explained with a sincere, yet factual tone in her voice. "The most common penalty for murder in this country is death. If this was a way to find Ema… Then I wanted to take it. Or so I thought…"

"Your opinion changed?" the judge asked.

"The girl who appeared in this courtroom earlier… reminded me of what my sister would have wanted me to do," Lana looked up, straight at the judge, "She would not forgive me if I threw my life away now… For that reason, I decided to tell the truth."

"What truth would that be, Ms. Skye?" Edgeworth asked, sounding like he already knew the answer – which he, of course, did. And so did I, for that matter.

"The truth is," Lana took a deep breath with close eyes. Then, she opened them again. "I never entered the apartment that day. At least not of my own power."

"What happened?" I asked.

Lana went on, "What Mrs. Fey said is true. The noon before the murder, my handbag had been stolen from me. Contained in it were several of my personal belongings, among them my cellular phone, knife and the keycard to Mr. Wright's apartment. When I came to his door, I knocked, knowing that the doorbell was broken. However… This is the last thing I know."

"You were injected a narcotic via the dart that was found and fell asleep," Edgeworth deducted. The reply came with a nod,

"This happened while I was still standing in front of the door. I felt a sudden pain in the back of my neck and began to feel dizzy and numb. When I came to, I was in the bathroom of Mr. Wright's apartment, which was filled with the investigators of the police. Them and… Ema's dead body." She visibly trembled at the mention of the latter. "That is all."

The judge gave a nod, "Hm… I see. So, according to this testimony, the Defendant was used as a scapegoat for the murder. Well, I have to say… A Defendant who not only at first admits to the crime immediately and insists on her confession for almost two entire days, only to revoke it afterwards… This is really unheard of. I am not sure what to think of this…"

"It may seem strange, yes, but this fits very well with what we already know, Your Honor," Edgeworth stated. "The stolen handbag, missing murder weapon, fake suicide note and staged struggle… You have to admit that it all makes sense when applied to what Ms. Skye just told us."

"Hm, well, I have to admit that I really can't find a thing speaking against it, no matter how much I think about it."

"Your Honor," I addressed the Judge. "I think the same. And I am ready to drop all charges against Ms. Skye right here and now… Under one condition."

I raised my hand and took my pose, "The Defense has to tell us who he believes to be the actual culprit and support the claims with evidence! Right here and now!"

"N-Nick?" Maya said rather surprised. "What are you doing? I thought we wanted Ms. Skye to go free!"

"This is how it works, Maya," I explained to her. "The trial can't end before either the time has run out or the culprit has been found… One of the better aspects of our trial system."

"But… Is there enough prove to accuse the actual killer already?" Maya wondered aloud.

"I believe there is," I replied. "And… I trust Edgeworth to use it in the right way. I know he can do it. If he can't, nobody can."

"Very well," Edgeworth bowed politely to my not-so-polite demand. "I shall present my case if the court wishes so. First of all, if you may recall our state of knowledge regarding the lock on the door to the apartment. As it was proven already, there were two ways to open said lock. The use of one of the several keycards that Mr. Wright has given to a selection of people… or... the most likely unwitting help of … '_A Certain Index of Lock Picking_', if I may call the boy this."

(_With Dylan Sengage's help, everyone could have opened the lock,) _I reminded myself. "Alright. Go on, Edgeworth."

"Next, the list of people who approached the crime scene in the relevant time frame. Mrs. and Ms. Fey were both present at slightly different times, however neither of them could have opened the door, excluding them both from the list of possible suspects. What they, however, _can _testify to is that shortly before Ms. Lana Skye arrived at the crime scene, nobody should have been there except for her! Nobody who could have given her the narcotic injection… Except for _one _person, of course."

The Judge's eyes widened strangely this moment, giving me the feeling that he had understood what Edgeworth was trying to say. Edgeworth went on.

"…One person who, according to Mrs. Fey, indeed _was _present. And, yet, strangely, this one person's testimony deviates wildly from the testimonies of all other witnesses we have heard so far. It is almost as if the truth had been… bent on purpose by her. In order to veil her own course of actions that day, perhaps?"

"Hm… Ms. Lilie Heatherd," the Judge closed his eyes. "Truthfully, I didn't like her attitude from the very beginning, yes…"

"In addition to her continued lies in her testimony and the fact that she had a way of accessing the crime scene, Ms. Heatherd also was in possession of the stepladder necessary to prepare the fake suicide," Edgeworth explained. "There are more things that might implicate her as the culprit. One last cross-examination might shed light on those details."

"Well, then…" The Judge banged his gavel. "In that case, I ask that Ms. Heatherd be brought back into this courtroom for another testimony immediately, should her current state allow it. Mr. Wright?"

"Alright, You Honor,"I gave a nod. "I will go and see if she's ready."

_(And if she is… She is finished.)_

Giving Maya a sign to stay and wait for a bit, 'til I was back, I was about to leave my spot behind the Prosecution's desk and go to fetch Lilie Heatherd, who should have still been under Franziska von Karma's watch. All seemed to be going well.

However… Do you know that one saying about _'Praising the day'_? Yeah…

**HOLD IT!**

… I probably had praised it a few times too often already by that point.

Freezing in my spot when I heard a fairly unfamiliar voice yell out those two words in panic, I turned back towards the middle of the courtroom, where a figure was sprinting towards the, by that point empty, witness stand, leaping at and grabbing it. Said figure had the appearance of a boy in his mid-teens with pitch-black hair. And it was Dylan Sengage.

"_Wait_!" he yelled. "Please wait, Your Honor!"

_(What…?) _Needless to say, I had a badfeeling about this. _(What is he going to do…?)_

"You are about to make a horrible, horrible mistake!" The boy claimed in a pleading voice. "Lilly… Isn't the one who killed Emmy!"

I listened up, "Emmy…?"

_(Did he know Ema…?)_

Maya, meanwhile, did seem troubled by something entirely different, "Nick! That boy… Isn't that…?"

"…The same one who rammed me in the hallway the other day, yes," I nodded. "This is Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend. Dylan Sengage."

"Is he going to try to get her out of this?" Maya asked. "But how? What Miles said seems solid!"

"I have no idea, Maya. But," I turned back towards the witness stand to look at the boy, "…If there's anything experience has taught me, it's that people who look as determined as this tend to find a way to get their will..."

The Judge's reaction to the boy's sudden appearance in the stand was a mixture consisting mainly of surprise, with some irritation and confusion mixed in.

"…Little boy," he started. "Why, it's very nice you want to help us, but this is grown-up work, you see. Would you, uhm… Please go up and sit down in the gallery?

"I'm not little! I'm in High School already!" Sengage insisted. "And next year, I'll be old enough to drive!"

_(Has that become the kids' standard excuse for everything nowadays?) _I silently wondered to myself.

The boy kept pleading, "Please listen to me, Your Honor! Lilie Heatherd has nothing to do with that murder! The real culprit…"

Everyone looked and listened up when those words fell. The intonation in Sengage's voice made it rather clear that he meant to tell that he _knew _who actually committed the murder. And this, naturally, caught people's attention.

"Mr. Sengage…!" Edgeworth's right hand was on his desk, "…You are Dylan Sengage, correct? The son of Dietrich Sengage?"

The boy, seemingly thrown out of concept a bit by Edgeworth's interruption, replied hesitantly and somewhat awkwardly.

"U…Uhm…Y-Yes! I am…"

Hearing this, the _J_udge's interest was visibly raised, "Sengage? Of the STV-01 case?"

"Mr. Sengage," Edgeworth went on. "You… were present on the afternoon of the murder, weren't you? That is the only logical explanation for why your fingerprints were on the door handle."

Sengage still appeared to be a bit disoriented, but finally, he got a grip on himself. Standing up straight, and looking so serious one might have actually bought his claim of him being an adult, he nodded,

"Yes. I was there. That afternoon. I was there when the murder happened. I… I was there when that girl… Emmy… died."

Surprised, shocked, and worried voices echoed down from the gallery . The crowd was nervous… and not just them. Over in the other bench, I could see Edgeworth looking rather tense. And I doubted that I looked much better, to be honest.

"I don't like this," I whispered, so that only Maya could hear it.

She turned, "Nick?"

"The look on the boy's face..." I told her, making a short gesture to urge her to muster him, "This determined poker face with a hint of fear… That is the look of someone who is about to do something stupid."

"Mr. Sengage..." The judge's voice held a whole lot more respect now than it had previously. "Are you saying that you know the identity of the true murderer of Ema Skye?"

There was a short pause, before Sengage, still having the same, unwavering look on his face, gave a short nod to the judge. I was afraid to ask the question that had to come now. But it had to be asked. Someone had to ask it. And the most logical one to ask it right now was me. The Prosecution. And I was going to play this role, without backing out anymore.

"…Who is it?" I knew the answer couldn't possibly be one I would like. "Who killed Ema Skye?"

The boy's body was shaking, yet his look stayed the same, stubborn and determined. He had started something and wasn't going to let off it now. Waiting just ten to twenty seconds more,Sengage finally opened his mouth.

"Ema Skye's true killer..." He stopped. Only a moment. Long enough to bite his lips and cast a look at the floor of the room, before, finally, taking a short breath and finishing the sentence towards the courtroom, which was in absolute silence by this point.

"…is me."

And in this moment, the mood changed. As if the previous atmosphere had been sucked into a giant vacuum in just one short moment and replaced by something entirely different. The crowd, once again, was plunged into chaos; however, this stood in no comparison to the reactions of Edgeworth or the Judge or Maya… Or mine.

**OBJECTION!**

It was my voice that yelled.

"Your Honor, the witness..." I remembered that he technically had never been called as a witness. "...The boy is clearly only trying to protect Ms. Heatherd! His statement can't be taken into the protocol!"

**HOLD IT!**

"It's not true!" The boy had turned his attention towards me. "It couldn't have been Lilly! She couldn't have killed anyone, even if she had wanted to… Which she didn't!"

"Mr. Sengage," the _J_udge gave him the most serious look he could muster. "Are you even aware what the things you say mean? You are accusing yourself, a boy of fifteen years, of murder, _the _capital crime. Are you aware what it would mean for you… your young life, if you would be pronounced guilty of something like this in court? Do you even understand it?"

"Yes, I do." Sengage's eyes had changed no bit. He stared right at the judge. "I absolutely understand, Your Honor."

"Excuse me, Mr. Sengage." This was Edgeworth. "You said something just now that piqued my interest… What did you mean by _'Ms. Heatherd couldn't have committed the crime'_?"

Dylan Sengage let his eyes slide across the courtroom, as he asked, "A rhetorical question: Was the victim's death a bloody one?"

The image of Ema, as I had found her, sitting in a pool of her own blood, flashed before me. Hesitantly, I nodded,

"She was stabbed… There was a lot of blood at the crime scene, yes."

"Then it couldn't have been Lilly," Sengage insisted. "Because… Lilly… Lilie Heatherd… She has a horrible hemophobia!_" _

"Hemophobia?" Maya, of course, was clueless. "Nick, Nick! What does that mean?"

It wasn't me, but Edgeworth who replied, not just to Maya, but the entire court,

"Hemophobia… The irrational fear of _blood_…"

"She tries not to let anyone know, but… Even seeing a small cut makes her burst into tears!" Sengage claimed. "Sometimes, it's so bad she curls up in a ball and screams for several minutes! She was diagnosed. It should be written in her personal file. Check it, if you don't believe me."

This was the point that I realized that I had been wrong with what I had claimed earlier that day. This trial… wouldn't just work out like that. We weren't just going to 'make it work'. Because if the boy was right, if Lilie Heatherd really couldn't deal with seeing such huge masses of blood like what had been there at the scene of Ema's death, not to mention getting into contact with them... Then there had to be a mistake somewhere in there. A huge flaw in my reasoning that I hadn't noticed up to that point.

So Lana hadn't killed Ema and… neither had Lilie Heatherd. But who did it then? Who could it have been?

My eyes rested on Sengage for a bit.

"Nick…!" Maya's voice attracted my attention. "Do you believe that… that boy…?"

_(I don't know.) _I thought to myself. _(I don't know enough about this boy to make any kind of judgment. But…)_

My talk with that other boy, Apollo, from the day before came back to me.

"_Dylan didn't do it."_

"_Hm?"_

"_Please listen to me. Dylan's an idiot sometimes. And he is eating out of that girl's hand and would do anything she tells him, but… He wouldn't have done that. Never. So, please…"_

I felt how I ended up gnawing my lip again due to nervousness,

_(… That other boy trusts him. There has to be a reason he does so. So… could it really have been Sengage? Really…?)_

Putting both my hands flatly on the desk before me, I spoke up.

"… Mr. Sengage… No… Dylan. Listen. Please." The boy looked up at me, allowing me to continue. "I know what it is like when you want to protect a loved person at any cost, but… If you are not absolutely… one hundred percent sure that the death of this girl was your fault and your fault alone… If there's not really no other reason for this confession than your own knowledge that, what happened to her was the direct result of _your _actions… Then you should stop now. We want the truth here. Nothing but the truth."

"I know all of this," Dylan claimed steadfast. "That's why I confessed. It is the truth. I killed Emmy. I rammed the knife into her body. That was all my doing."

"So," Edgeworth turned the room's attention back to him, "Let me sum up… What you are saying is, that the true preparatory and executor of the crime was you, Dylan Sengage… And that Lilie Heatherd's testimony was perjury in order to cover up your guilt?"

Dylan gave an unexpected answer, "No."

"'No'?" I replied, "What do you mean?"

"Lilly didn't lie," he claimed. "At least… not knowingly."

"…!"

"I caused it," he began to admit, as I was still trying to make sense of what he was saying. "At noon… I slipped something into her drink to make her fall asleep. I didn't give her much, so she wasn't out for long; only two or three hours. I used that time to change the time on all her clocks. So they went an hour fast. Then, I went into Mr. Wright's empty apartment to make sounds. I drugged her once more, before committing the murder. This way, I could return her clocks to normal and she slept through the entire thing. I did this because I needed a witness who could testify that nobody but Ms. Skye was there at the time of the murder."

**OBJECTION!**

Edgeworth rammed his hand into the desk, "Then how do you explain the call that reported the crime to the police just on time? If what you say had actually happened, this call would have happened an hour early!"

"Easy. I manipulated her phone," Dylan responded. "This way, all calls were redirected to me. I knew she would only make a hasty report, giving all the necessary data and hanging up again immediately. I recorded her voice and later triggered a program to send this same call to the police once the time was correct. I am… good at this stuff. Ask my teachers if you don't believe me."

**OBJECTION!**

My palms met the desk. Both of them. "But Ms. Heatherd testified that she saw both Skye sisters come by! If the "murder" she witnessed was staged and happened an hour prior, how do you explain this?"

"The mind can play tricks on people, right?" Dylan responded."I know Lilly well, so I knew how to manipulate her into believing she saw things she never really saw."

"…Enough to make her testify that she actually saw the sisters…?"

The boy nodded, "You see, Lilly and I had an appointment that day. I know she never really pays too much attention to what's happening around her… Especially not when she's eating. So, when she met with me downstairs to go to the concert down at Sunshine Coliseum, I simply told her, _'Hey, I saw Emmy pass by earlier. She said she was going to meet with her sister at that Prosecutor's apartment. Did you see her?'_"

"…And because of this, she was convinced that she _must _have seen them..." Edgeworth deducted and I couldn't help but agree when I pieced everything together,

"Lilie Heatherd has a huge ego… She would not admit to having been confused by hearsay… So, maybe, once she had testified that Ema and Lana had passed by her… _S_he just convinced herself that she actually _did_ see it?" I looked up, "But… where from did you know Ema Skye?"

"I knew her in passing," Dylan admitted, just to turn a bit awkward after. "I-I… used to have…kind of a crush on her, so I would try to talk to her a few times but… I don't think she ever took all too much notice of me…"

"A crush…" I repeated. "Are you trying to tell us that _that _was your motive for the murder?"

_(That sounds anything but convincing… I still have that nagging feeling that he is just making up all of this as he goes along. And yet…)_

Dylan, however, replied, "N-No! My crush has nothing to do with this! I… I… just!"

**HOLD IT!**

And then, someone else had decided to join the party.

"What is going on here? S… _STOP!"_

With a loud yell and a bang of the main courtroom door, the shapes of two people: Lilie Heatherd_,_ and Franziska Von Karma,chasing after her, stormed into the courtroom. Dylan hadn't seen them yet, but he turned at the sound of the voice, looking shocked beyond compare.

"L-Lilly…?"

"LANNY!"

Lilie Heatherd was standing right behind the boy with an aggressive pose and an expression I hadn't seen on her yet. She was angry, but not in the same way she had been angry before when we cross-examined her. This anger seemed more like another kind of anger, the anger of a mother who was dragging her misbehaving child out of hazard.

"So, I decide to take a seat in the gallery, and what do I see? What are you doing down in the stand here- No- What _the hell _are you talking about? Did you lose your mind? Lanny!"

There was the faintest idea of fear and shame in Dylan's face, before he managed to find his grip once more. He stood up tall before Heatherd –literally, he was actually a bit taller than her when they stood side by side – and declared with a sad smile on his face.

"I am sorry, Lilly… I'm so sorry I used you for this, I mean."

"L… Lanny!" Heatherd repeated once more, stomping her foot into the floor. "Stop it!"

Dylan, however, didn't even think of stopping. Tilting his head a bit, he went on,

"I needed a witness so badly, and you were the only one I knew how to trick. That was selfish of me, I know. Can you forgive me? Or… Will you leave me now?"

Heatherd just stood before the boy slowly started to shake her head in disbelief, before, finally, closing her eyes to yell once more,

"Cut it out…_Shut up, shut up, shut up_! Quit talking crap like this! You didn't kill anyone! You didn't and you know it! You…"

She stopped. The fact that someone had grabbed her by her right wrist and was now pulling on it had interrupted her,

"Witness, even if I am not exactly sure what is happening here right now, you are obviously interrupting the proceedings with this foolish performance," Franziska von Karma told her coldly. "Return to the gallery… at once."

Heatherd's response was to twist her arms, pull it free of Von Karma's grip with a sudden move and leaped towards her boyfriend. Grabbing him by both shoulders, she shook him.

"Don't be an idiot! If anything happened to you, I… I'd… Please, just get out of here!"

Dylan didn't respond. Instead, he turned his head away, so he wouldn't have to face Heatherd anymore. She kept shaking his shoulders.

A whip crack behind the two of them made Heatherd stop.

"Witness, I will not repeat myself again after this: Return to the gallery and wait until you are given a chance to talk!"

"B-By then… It might be too late!" Desperately, Heatherd tried to get her arm free once again, but failed. Franziska had learned, the same trick wouldn't work twice.

The Judge's gavel hit the desk twice loudly.

"This is enough!" he stated. "Ms. Heatherd, if there is anything about this case that you haven't told us so far, I am giving you one last chance now to make up for this. Otherwise, I will see myself forced to have you held in contempt of court."

Heatherd, still restrained by Franziska's grip, threw quick glances at everyone in the room. She made one last attempt to get her arm free.

"Ghh… The truth is…" Her attempt failed. She remained in place. Closing her eyes, she yelled out, "The truth is that I killed Ema Skye! That is the reason my testimony differed from all the others! That and nothing else. There you have it! Now, let the boy go!"

**HOLD IT!**

"Thanks for trying to protect me," Dylan said with a sweet voice. "But we both know you couldn't have, right?"

"No!" Heatherd shook her head wildly, "No, I have no idea what you are talking about! _Of course_ I could have killed a person! I am a horrible, horrible girl who can do horrible, horrible things! I think that should be obvious to everyone here. Now, throw the book at me and-"

Heatherd froze when she saw that in the time she had been speaking, Dylan had pulled a switchblade knife from one of the pouches on his belt and opened it. She stumbled back,

"L-Lanny…?"

Still having the same, sad smile on his face, the boy raised the hand with the knife, led his other hand close to it… slid his left thumb along the edge of the blade, sending the crowd in the gallery into a wave of shocked gasps. When the pain set in, Dylan flinched, but only a moment. Bright red blood started to drip off his finger immediately after he had made the cut. He let the knife sink and put it he took steps towards a horrified Lilie Heatherd. And the moment she saw the wound, she turned into a pillar for a moment. Her eyes open so wide, they seemingly took up most of her face, she trembled and breathed short, gasp-like breaths.

"Could you have stabbed a person, Lilly?" Dylan asked as he went closer to the young woman, presenting his wounded finger. "I don't think you could have. Not you."

Unable to even say anything, panic visibly began to take over Heatherd. She tried to back off, away from Dylan, away from the _dripping_ blood, but found herself still restrained by Von Karma. When she found that there was no way she could back off further, no escape as Dylan kept coming closer and closer, she eventually shut her eyes so tightly it left her face looking painfully distorted. Then she screamed. It was a loud, high pitched shriek, which bore barely any resemblance with Heatherd's actual speaking voice, being more similar to the screams of a little girl fearing for her life than anything. As the people in the courtroom were either _(still) _covering their ears or trying to recover from the shock of Heatherd's sudden scream, she herself had sunken into her knees. Clearly disoriented and still horrified, she ended up clinging to Franziska von Karma's skirt, the nearest object she could hold onto. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Dylan looked deeply sorry when he saw her in that state. His eyes were wet, though it wasn't really easy to tell if this was due to the cut or the state he had put Heatherd into. His shoulders slumping and his head lowered, he proceeded to lick the blood of his thumb.

The Judge watched the scene dumbfounded. When he finally found his composure again, he had something to say,

"Well… I believe that there is one thing that this unusual scene just now proved without any doubt… And that is that Ms. Heatherd could not have stabbed Ms. Skye without losing her composure!"

Edgeworth and I looked at each other, both strained, both confused. It was true, Lilie Heatherd could have never taken all the actions necessary to bring Ema, Lana and the crime scene into the state they had been found in if the sight of a bit of blood reduced her to this. But that left Dylan as the only possible suspect. And would that boy have really been able to kill Ema? At the very least, he had just proven that he had no qualms about cutting his own finger. Though… The explanation that it was him still didn't sit right with me and for a reason. I decided to voice my thoughts and raised my hand, yelling,

**OBJECTION!**

"There is just one problem with what you say, Mr. Sengage," I leaned forwards and glared at the boy, to make sure he would take every word I said seriously. "…The motive. People don't kill without a reason. You are just a high school student. What motivation could you possibly have had for murder?"

"The other way around…" Dylan started to reply with a serious face after removing his thumb from his mouth, "What motive could Lilly have had? She didn't even know Emmy too well. Or Ms. Skye, for that matter. The prosecution made a huge thing out of that fake suicide note, but never even bothered to get an actual motive from her. How come it matters now, all of a sudden? And even if it really matters all of a sudden, I have a whole lot more of a motive than Lilly does!"

I had nothing. Of course, he was right, I had never bothered to search for an actual motive for Lana. After all, I had never even truly believed that it had been her. Yet, this was different… Wasn't it? After all, this boy just couldn't have done it. That belief was there, in my head. I didn't know why I was so convinced of it, though I suspected it was because of what Apollo had told me… Even with my role as a different one right now, the Defense Attorney in me refused to believe that Dylan here had dealt the deadly blow to Ema, that the judgment of that strong, young boy that I had met yesterday could have been off... But, maybe, that was just a trap of my own mindset that I was falling into here…?

I shook my head to get it clear and banged the desk.

"You didn't answer my question," I said, glaring as Dylan. "As it stands, what you gave us sounds flimsy, at best, and it's obvious you are trying hard to throw all suspicion off Ms. Heatherd! Truthfully, I find it hard to believe you would have any believable motive to kill Ema Skye at all!"

**OBJECTION!**

This, to my great surprise, came from the other side of the room, where Edgeworth, seeming calmer, but not exactly in a good mood, was trying to get everyone's attention. Once he had it, he slowly began talking,

"Wright… He _has _a motive."

"…What?"

I looked at Edgeworth like he had just told me that he had seen Santa Claus in shorts. A sigh emerged from the other man's mouth.

"You never read the STV-01 case file, did you? You should have…"

"The… case file?"

For some reason, the tone in which Edgeworth said this sent a cold sensation down my spine. STV-01… It was true, I had barely informed myself about the case beyond Dylan's connection to it. I just didn't think it would be necessary. Edgeworth, on the other hand, had researched the entire case as soon as I had given him the hint. And now something told me that I should have done the same. There was obviously something I missed in there, something I didn't know… And I felt like this would come back to bite me now. Edgeworth was browsing through the STV-01 case file, which was neatly laid out before him on the desk.

"If the court would please turn their attention to page one." Edgeworth found the information he had been searching for and handed his copy of the case file to a bailiff, who immediately went to give it to the Judge. "… I think you will find that the information written there is, indeed, relevant to the current case. Specifically… The data regarding its prosecution."

The judge received the file and began to study it,

"Hm… Case STV-01, State VS Sengage… The Defendant was Dietrich Sengage… The Prosecution was led by..." The judge stopped for a moment. His eyes widened visibly. "…Chief Prosecutor Lana Skye?"

"It was this case, which led directly into the suicide of Dietrich Sengage… And the Prosecutor in charge was Lana Skye," Edgeworth nodded. "It is just a possibility, but, perhaps… The motive for the murder on her sister could have been… revenge?"

The judge let his eyes wander to Dylan, "… Mr. Sengage?"

He didn't reply immediately, waited a moment. Then, however, Dylan spoke, looking as determined as before.

"I am an orphan. My mother died five years ago, and, except for my father, I had no one else. And then, he was… just gone," he tilted his head a bit, looking strangely bitter. "That woman…She took my father. So… I took her sister. That's fair… isn't it?"

Dylan couldn't have done it… right? That's what Apollo had said. But the more I heard here, the more and more it seemed like he had been wrong, like Dylan was actually the only one who _could _have done it. Everything fit. He had the opportunity to commit the crime, an opportunity to manipulate the witness, a way of entering the crime scene, a motive... and then, he also had… _black hair._ Just like Ema had said it. Everything was falling into place, flawlessly.

So, what was there still left that kept me searching for reasons to believe that he didn't do it? Was it really just because that other boy, Apollo, trusted me to make sure that the things he told me wouldn't be used against Dylan? It had to be, because… from a purely logical perspective, I couldn't find any other reason to believe he didn't do it anymore, no matter how hard I tried.

I heard the Judge's voice, "Mr. Edgeworth… It seems the motive you presented is valid. What would you like to do?"

"…Given that all evidence seems to be pointing towards it, I am inclined to believe that my initial assumption was a mistake. Lilie Heatherd couldn't have committed the murder. Her phobia would have prevented her from executing the deed and, truly, she lacks a motive. All evidence seems to be pointing towards Dylan Sengage. Therefore the Defense would like to… offer him as a new potential suspect in Lana Skye's stead."

"Hm, well, then… What is your opinion on the matter… Mr. Wright?"

It was then that I realized that now that Lana's innocence had been proven, my personal connection to this case had ended. There was no client to protect, there were no more people I really knew in danger of being wrongly accused… And suddenly, I didn't know what to do anymore. As a Defense Attorney, I had never gotten into a situation like this before. Somehow, there had always been either something 'black' to fight against or something 'white' to protect. But all of a sudden, there was nothing black or white here. And I wasn't supposed to save anyone. I was supposed to prosecute. To find the most likely killer, present them to the court and prove their guilt. There was nothing 'personal' about this and no base of trust to be built up with anyone, at all. Conversely, right now, the trust I had in the opinion of the young Apollo, who I, for the record, had only known for less than a day, actually seemed to be _hindering_ me more than anything. I couldn't help but remember two years ago, when I had complained to Maya about prosecutors in general, about how they were all selfish and only focused on their own success, but… This was the first time, I realized how… _cold, _how dehumanizing and harsh the work of a prosecutor could be. Even if it was still about fighting for justice and putting the blame where it truly belonged, there was a difference; a gaping one that never before had been as clear to me as right now. This wasn't a job about protecting innocent people from false judgment. This was a job purely about giving judgment and undermining it with cold, factual logic. Regardless of all emotions.

So… what was I supposed to do? For my mind, the answer was easy, but… My heart didn't want to go along. This had never happened before…

My eyes wandered over the courtroom but the faces I saw there weren't giving me answers, only more questions. They were expecting me to talk and make a decision. For a moment, my eyes stuck on the empty seat where the brown-haired teenager in the red uniform had been sittingbefore they had sent him out. Then, my eyes rested on Dylan. He, too, wanted me to talk. Finally, I took a look at Heatherd, who was still kneeling on the floor besides a Franziska Von Karma who didn't seem too sure what to think of the scene she had entered into. No wonder; she had missed a good chunk of the trial. Heatherd's eyes still seemed blank and expressionless. She had yet to really recover from the shock she was dealt earlier, but still, I made out how she was making weak attempts to get back on her feet and clear her head by slowly moving it left and right. I wondered how aware of what was going on here she really was at the moment

It couldn't go on like this. Time would keep passing, but nothing would change about the facts. And everyone was waiting for me to say something. I had no choice but to make a decision. Both hands on my desk, I finally spoke.

"Dylan Sengage. I ask you one last time. Is there anything else you should tell the court? Anything you haven't told us already? Are you absolutely sure that this is all we should know?"

Dylan nodded,

"Absolutely sure."

I gave him a moment, just one more moment to take this statement back. One moment to revise, to save himself. But he remained silent. I couldn't help but sigh. I had to… end this.

"…Then I see no reason why this trial should continue any longer." Realizing how half-hearted my response had sounded, I raised my head. I made an attempt to sound more sureof myself when I went on, "The Prosecution is dropping the lawsuit against Lana Skye. Instead, I accept the Defense's accusation of… Dylan Sengage. There will be new investigations into the case in light of this, of course… That, and a new trial."

It was just then, that Heatherd's voice was heard again.

"L…Lanny…" She tried to get up on her feet and run over to the witness stand once more, but Franziska was still holding onto her wrist. "Lanny!"

Her shout was drowned out by the Judge's gavel hitting once.

"In that case… Bailiffs, the suspect will be held in detention for questioning until his trial," the judge declared. "Please lead him away."

Immediately, two men came to lead Dylan out; however, they didn't have to do much. He did not show the slightest signs of resistance and walked with them very willingly. Heatherd, however, had finally managed to stand up again by that point. And she was wailing.

"L-_Lanny!" _She reached out, trying to grab for his shirt when he passed by, but failed, "**Laaaaaaanny**!"

The boy gave her one single, hesitant, sad glance before he was led out of the door. It was closed behind him. And barely had it done so that Lilie Heatherd once more collapsed onto her knees. There wasn't much left of the annoying, self-centered brat Edgeworth and I had previously had the pleasure of dealing with by that point. All there was to see there at that moment was a crying little girl on the ground. And, finally, she gave in to Franziska's attempts to drag her away. Weakly, she got back on her feet and was led back out by the prosecutor, without saying as much as a word.

Silence had returned to the courtroom once more. Nobody was speaking a word, probably because nobody could think of anything fitting to say to follow up what had just happened. I know that I couldn't.

The silence only ended when the Judge, who had apparently been thinking of the entire situation for a few minutes, shook his head and spoke once more_._

"A really unusual trial… Not only has the Defendant revoked her confession, but now we have yet another suspect who insists on being the culprit himself. There are many cases with several suspects who all deny their guilt, however… Several suspects who demand to be declared guilty? I can't remember having seen this ever before."

I said nothing. This situation wasn't entirely unlike anything I had seen before, but, still, different. And more complicated. But I had decided that, for now, it would be better to just let things be as they were. What counted now was that Lana was safe. Everything else I would investigate into later.

"In any case, it seems that we have reached a conclusion in this trial. All testimonies have been heard and it seems that the Defense and Prosecution have come to agree with each other."

…There would be another trial. This realization dawned on me more and more. There would be a second trial for this case, against Dylan, and I would have to prosecute it.

Lana had stepped back up to the witness stand now.

"…In the light of all this, the court declares the Defendant, Lana Skye… **Not Guilty.**"

The crowd was cheering. The crowd was clapping. Somebody up there was throwing confetti again and I had no idea who it was. It was like it always was_._

And yet, I was unsure of what to think.

* * *

_This chapter has been finished for about a month. So, I have no excuse for letting you people wait like this. Absolutely no excuse. I have to apologize. _

_The reasons I didn't upload it yet are many, but none truly justifies letting you wait like this. I will still list them._

_*) The Court Record was a mess and I wanted to fix it before I upload the chapter, but I failed. There's still flaws in there. I apologize. If I had a record keeper or something, it would be so much easier. but the way it's right now, I am forced to keep an overview of everything all by myself. I am sorry. __**The (flawed) Court Record for Chapter 28 can be found on this fanfic's tumblr blog regardless. It has an extra page.**_

_*) Roleplaying. I was absorbed in RPing for a while now to a fault. I am sorry, I just can't help it. RPing is one of my passions. It distracted me from this fanfic for quite a while._

_*) No GS News + Release of "Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance" around the corner = Fandom Focus Switch. I am still an insane Ace Attorney Fan, but the fact remains that I'm not just that. There's 3-4 game franchises that keep me squeeing like a maniac (Kingdom Hearts, The Legend of Zelda, Ace Attorney and, to an extent, The World Ends with You) and when there's more news about one than about the other, I just can't help but change my focus. Before KH3D was released in Japan, I was making tons of theories about the ending (And I oddly feel like I was correct with them, really…), but now that the game is out in Japan and only due for release in the west in summer (Well, still better than "Never" as with GK2, I suppose), I really have to compose myself to stay away from spoilers. Naturally, that made me even more hyped. -_-; Some of you might be all like "But didn't she import GK2? Why's she not doing that with this game as well?" now. Well, my friends, the 3DS has this cruel, little thing called a "Region Lock" installed and I don't really have the money to afford two 3DSs__…__ As good of a Japanese practice it would be… ;_;_

_This also means, by extension, no importing Layton VS Ace Attorney or GS5. Can you hug me?_

_Anyway, when there's a burst of AA news, I can usually channel my fangirl-power into writing oneshots, but it's different with KH, because I find it infinitely much harder to write fanfic for that fandom, since every new game changes everything and throws all I write into discontinuity. So all my creative power went into Squeeing on tumblr instead and to waste… Well, I guess I drew some fanart too._

_We need GS5 news! Something more than some stupid Logo! And hey, what happened to Layton VS AceAttorney? Come on, I want more food for my 3DS than just Kid Icarus: Uprising! (Which, for the record, is amazing._

_*)Oh, yeah, there's University too, I guess. I'm not doing too badly. It still requires quite a lot of my attention, so, yeah, that supstracts Fanfic writing time as well… But I have Easter Holidays now…_

_All in all, I let you wait for nothing. Forgive me. I will try to make up and write chapters quicker again from now on. I need to distract myself from Kingdom Hearts anyway, before I spoil myself for anything, everything and (any) nobody in the game. _

_On a separate note: Ace Attorney movie. Anybody know when the Japanese DVD is out? I can actually watch Japanese DVDs, so I definitely WILL import that one. _

_On yet another separate note: Kid Icarus Uprising. Play it. I mean it, play it. Best dialogue in any game since Ghost Trick. I am serious. _


	29. Bystanders

"It was just the way Ema has said."

Lana's voice was factual and calm as always as she explained, "The one who originally proposed a meeting at your apartment was you yourself, Mr. Wright. The invited parties were me… and apparently Ema, judging by what happened."

Seeing as Lana paused here, I took the chance to ask a question, "You didn't know Ema was going to come as well?"

"I suspected it," she admitted. "The two of you had been very secretive in general lately and, given the recent events, it seemed like the most logical thing you might want to talk about."

"Secretive?" Maya was the one who interrupted. "About what?"

Lana took a bit longer to reply this time, as if she was hesitating, but only a little. Her eyes locked onto me, "Mr. Wright… You are sure you don't remember?"

I shook my head, "Nothing at all. Trust me, if I did…"

There was no need to say more. A nod from Lana made me understand that she, too, had understood. She finally continued to speak.

"Ema and you… had apparently been working on a "project" of sorts for the past two years."

"Ema…? What kind of project could I have been working on with her, of all people…?" Just when I said this something came to mind. I felt my hand already grabbing for the non-present object in my empty pocket when I remembered that I didn't have my cellphone on me… However, the memory of what I had wanted to take a look at was clearly in my mind. The message Ema had sent me. "Wait… Could it be that she was investigating into something with me? A case maybe?"

"An investigation?" Mia had stepped forward to join the conversation. "Why with Ema? Sure, Lana told me she had interest in Scientific Investigation techniques, but, Phoenix… Mr. Wright. You have an entire investigational unit at your disposal. Even more, if necessary, actually. Why would you investigate into a case in secret, with no one but a schoolgirl as your aide?"

"I admit, it doesn't appear to make a whole lot of sense if you think about it from a general standpoint," Edgeworth had joined us. "However, we need to consider who we are talking about. When dealing with Wright…"

"… the 'general' does tend to _not_ apply all too much anymore." It was Dahlia who finished the sentence while tilting her head in such a sickeningly sweet way that I had to look away from her.

"I would tell you what your investigations were about," Lana continued, her eyes sliding aside slowly. "…However, my own knowledge regarding the matter is fairly limited. As I said, whatever it was the two of you were doing, you were doing it in secret. Ema would not tell me what you were working on, even if asked her."

"But I don't understand, Ms. Skye," I stated. "Why are you telling us all this now? Why did you claim you were Ema's killer in first place?"

Lana took a deep breath, "Mr. Wright… If whatever case you and Ema had been working on was such a secret matter that you wouldn't even tell me… Isn't there a strong possibility that there is a connection between the case and the reason Ema was murdered in the first place?"

I jerked a bit. Right, it was as Maya had said. Ema was murdered… for information. And if the culprit murdered Ema for this reason…

"I didn't know the circumstances of your investigation. Nor did I know the sensitivity of all information connected to it. Revealing anything of what you were doing might have provoked the culprit to take further action. As your state of mind was unknown to me as well at the time, I did not want to risk putting my sister's and your hard work on the line. Rather, I wanted to go down protecting whatever my sister had given her life for."

_(Just like we thought. She did it for Ema's sake,)_ I confirmed to myself._ (Looks like she didn't know that the killer stole something from Ema...)_

"I see," I replied with a nod. "Thank you for your efforts, Ms. Skye. I'm sorry that things turned out the way they did."

I knew that none of this was really my fault and that an apology also wouldn't bring back what Lana had lost, but I still felt I owed her this apology. It was the least I could do.

"Looks like there's no other way then. We will probably have to ask Ema herself about those mysterious 'investigations'," said Mia, scratching her chin a bit.

I turned to her. "… Iris just woke up."

"Yeah... She's recovering in the nurse's office," Maya remembered. "We'll have to go fetch her later…"

"Summoning Ema the first time around really cost her much effort…" I thought aloud, still looking at Mia. "It's important we talk to Ema again, true, but… Do you think it would be a good idea to ask Iris to channel her again so soon? I'm not so sure…"

Mia, seemed to share my worries, as she put her hand to her chin and sighed, "Hm…"

It was Maya who didn't seem to see any problem at all. Clapping together her hands, she offered, "That's no problem! I mean, Iris isn't the only medium around, is she? Just give me a sec and I'll call up Mom! She can take care of it!"

"I don't know…" A new voice of concern was raised by Dahlia. "Iris just managed to actually channel her first spirit in a long time… What would she think if we just went and asked someone else to do it again in her stead now?"

My attention caught, I, for the first time today, actually looked straight at the young woman, who, spinning her parasol a bit, let her eyes wander across the room, somewhat lost in thought. A sigh came from her lips.

"I know, Ema still has information we need, but… She's the master. The permissions for all channelings go through her, so she would know. And then… She would feel like a failure. Maybe we could hold off calling Ema again just a bit longer? Just until Iris has recovered."

A short silence followed, during which everyone was looking at each other, wondering what to do. Iris' channeling of Ema had, to put it nicely, been a bit crude. Neither did it last very long, nor was it very 'complete', as Ema's memory had demonstrated. Yet, Iris had done her best to help. Would it be fair of us to simply replace her with a different medium now? Moreso… Would Mrs. Fey even agree to it? After all, she had already shown that building up Iris' self-esteem was also her priority. What was the best course of action…?

"…I think…"

"Nick?" Maya pushed her upper body forwards a bit and leaned towards me. I stopped pondering, raised my head and addressed the whole group.

"Ema wanted to see the crime scene later. I guess channeling her again can wait until we find time to investigate there again. By then, Iris should have recovered, right? Then we can ask her if she wants to do it herself again. If she doesn't, asking Misty Fey is still an option as well, after all."

"Until we find time?" Maya asked.

I turned to her specifically now, "Dylan Sengage was just arrested. I will have to question him before we can continue with any investigations whatsoever."

"Oh, right…"

"Isn't there any way we can find out more about what Ema and Mr. Wright were working on without asking her directly?" Mia looked alternately at Lana and at me, though I felt that her eyes were resting on me significantly longer. "Any leads in this case that could connect it to something else. Hints at the crime scene or recent events. Anything should work."

Hearing her talk like that – and regardless if she really was my Mia or not, the way she spoke was identical and enough for me to feel obligated to live up to her expectations – I lowered my head slowly and began to think through everything that had happened the past few days as she was still talking.

"Actually," I raised my head again already. This had been easier than I expected it to be. "There is _something_…"

"There… There is?" Dahlia. I didn't look at her, so I couldn't tell you what exactly her expression was when she asked this.

Maya was the next to talk, "C'mon, what is it, Nick? Super-secret Evidence nobody but you knows about yet? It probably gives away the true bad guy clear as day when put into perspective, I bet!"

Her fists were pumped in a way that made me downright scared she might punch me in the face any moment. Lana didn't take long to spoil Maya's enthusiasm though.

"If Mr. Wright had anything of that sort, he'd have certainly used it in the trial. Still… I am curious. What is it that you found?"

"It's more like a hunch than anything else, but..." My eyes were darting all around the place. Probably because I was trying to look at everyone here at once. Maya, Mia, Edgeworth, Lana, Dahlia… All their reactions could mean everything now. Each of them could know everything about this matter. More than I did, in any case. I couldn't miss a beat now. My head turned slightly. I was facing the only other man in the small group.

"Edgeworth. What can you tell me about the BD-7 case?"

What happened next was in a way not too different from what I had expected, but it was definitely – how to put it? – a bit more intensive. Everyone around me immediately made some kind of move when I mentioned it. Mia raised her brows, while Lana narrowed her eyes. Dahlia jerked a bit and Maya left out the world's shortest gasp and looked at the floor like she was afraid of accidentally meeting someone's eyes with hers. As for Edgeworth, his eyes widened at first. But then, I found his lips curling into something that I identified as some kind of smirk. Though, his eyes didn't move at all. It was a strange image. Even though nobody spoke in the first few seconds, those reactions alone said so much more. I was onto something. Something important that involved many parties also involved in today's Case in some way. It had to be.

"Nick…" Maya took one step towards me before Edgeworth could even answer. "Why that case? That was, like, years ago, wasn't it?"

"The term fell twice yesterday," I replied, turning my attention back to Edgeworth as I did. "Both times in connection to me… and to you, Edgeworth."

Edgeworth considered for a moment before he replied.

"Hm… So it has finally begun to play a role again. '_Vendetta's Peak_'."

I replied with a confused look,

"Vendetta's…Peak?"

"That's the name the media gave the case later on," I heard Dahlia say and upon realizing the rather meek tone in her voice – for a moment I wondered if it wasn't Iris who was talking there – I actually brought myself to look at her. She was clinging to her parasol and her head hung as she stared at the floor. She seemed a bit pale – paler than usual.

"That was when Miles and I first met… My case."

I listened up. Dahlia's case? And then I remembered, what Edgeworth had told me the day before, about how he and Dahlia had come together. She had been his client…

I wanted to ask about this, I wanted to know more. What kind of case "Vendetta's Peak" had been, what roles Edgeworth and 'I' had played in it, how it could connect to anything that was currently happening, but I didn't get the chance. We had been standing there doing nothing for a long time. Too long. Certain people had started to get a bit… impatient.

"Yoi!"

It was a high pitched, but loud voice. I raised my head a bit, looking around.

_('Yoi'?)_

I didn't need to scan the room for long. Little Trucy was standing to Maya's hem, tugging her sleeve.

"Hey, Yoi! Yoi, will this take much longer?"

A little bit delayed, but still – she had been searching the room with her eyes as well for some reason; didn't she realize Trucy was next to her? – Maya turned and faced the younger girl.

"Trucy! You're still here? I thought you told me earlier you wanted to go play with a friend after the trial."

"He's not here anymore," Trucy replied upset, looking at the floor. She traced the tiles with her boot as she did. "They threw him out. I guess he went home."

I quickly realized that she was talking about Apollo, remembering his brave, if not a bit foolhardy actions earlier in the gallery.

"Oh, right… I didn't think of that." Maya turned to me looking a bit unsure. She took the little girl by her hand. "Nick, I'm sorry, but I guess I need to take Trucy home. Not all the way to Kurain, just to Mom's apartment. She can't stay on her own, after all. And somebody needs to take care of Iris too."

"It's fine", I told her. "We need to head to the Detention Center anyway. Lana still needs the last paperwork filled to get released and Mia and Dahlia need to… well…"

"I'll accompany you, if you don't mind, Wright," Edgeworth addressed me from the side. "You will interview the young Mr. Sengage, correct? I would be very interested 'aiding' you in that matter, so to speak."

I turned to him, "Aiding me, Edgeworth?"

"I'm no longer the Defense Attorney in this case, Wright," he explained. "Thus there is no reason why I shouldn't support you in your investigations. Especially considering that I have access to a lot of trivia that would be denied to you otherwise due to your… situation."

He was right. Even with the information I had already gathered, a lot of things were still a mystery to me. The best guess I had right now was really getting help. Even though Edgeworth helping me so outright still felt weird. I couldn't help but wonder to myself where the catch might be. Or maybe I just hadn't gotten used to the idea of Edgeworth as a more open person yet. While I still considered all this, he continued speaking.

"As for the BD-7 case…" I immediately snapped out of my thoughts and listened to him. "We shall speak about that on the way."

"…Alright," I nodded my head in agreement. "We'll do it like that. …Thank you, Edgeworth."

"You are welcome, Wright."

This wasn't over. Not by a long shot. There were too many pieces not yet placed and too many cards not yet played. Was Sengage the culprit? Something inside me urged me to say 'No'. But at the same time, I also knew that it was a very likely possibility. There was nothing ruling it out. …Nothing but Apollo's claims, and those didn't count as evidence. That was what I needed right now. Information, evidence, testimony of true eyewitnesses, if possible, something tangible. And if I couldn't find that directly at the scene, I would have to explore anything that might have to do with it. There were enough hints that this whole case was just a little part of something much bigger already. Still, I wished it'd turn out to be easy after all, easier than it looked right now. There were just too many things going on at once at the moment. It was stressing me out.

Maya left holding hands with Trucy and giving me an assuring smile. Our remaining group, consisting of Edgeworth, Dahlia, Mia and Lana and me, then got on our way to the lobby exit where two guards, as well as Detective Gumshoe were already waiting.

Just when I was about to leave the Courthouse, something hit me in the face. Literally. It wasn't a hard something, but it came suddenly enough to startle me into stopping in my tracks and stumbling back a bit. The next thing I knew, my hands were in my face, as I desperately tried to get rid of whatever foreign object had made contact with it. I eventually did and took a look at it. I held a bundle of yellow and pink flowers in my hands. Yes. Flowers.

_(…What?)_

"Was this supposed to be another foolish attempt to ridicule me even further, Rookie?!"

The voice came just as suddenly as the flower attack, but I didn't even need to raise my head and look in front of me to see who it belonged to. If the speech mannerisms weren't telling enough, the loud sound of a cracking whip that came right that next moment definitely was. I shrunk away and almost dropped the flowers. Franziska Von Karma was glaring at me like I was the scum she probably believed me to be.

"Keep your foolish bouquets to yourself, together with your foolish methods and lack of common sense!" she yelled at me, cracking her whip once more, as she did.

There was only one thought on my mind, however,

_( 'My' bouquet…?)_

"And don't you dare ever speak of this day again! Mark my words: This embarrassment will have repercussions! Farewell, Phoenix Wright!"

And with one last crack of the whip, she was gone. Good. One problem less I had to worry about. Only a million more to go. I took a deep breath, before turning my attention back to the flowers. It was strange, really. Of course I didn't send Franziska any flowers. And I couldn't think of anyone else who would have either…

"Those are lilies and mountain clovers," I heard Edgeworth's voice say behind me. I turned around to find him looking like he was wondering about something.

"But who could have sent those to Franziska? And why?" I asked. "It sure wasn't me."

"I don't doubt it wasn't you, Wright. Franziska can be quite quick to jump to conclusions," Edgeworth nodded. "Her receiving such a gift today, when she wasn't even the Prosecutor assigned to this trial makes it quite curious…"

"Well, I don't know who sent them, but I guess there's no harm in keeping them," I shrugged, carefully taking out a tissue and folding the flowers into it, then putting it into my suitcase. "Who knows? Maybe they'll be useful later on."

"I assume that is your philosophy regarding all evidence?" The tone in Edgeworth's voice sounded ever so slightly mocking. His pose – arms crossed – only made him look all the more smug as he said it. "It would certainly explain the overfilled impression that your suitcase makes on me."

I tried defending my methods, but it came out sounding awkward.

"Hey, you never know when useless ballast turns out to be important evidence, do you? What's wrong with being a bit prepared?"

"I prefer taking notes of my evidence," Edgeworth explained. "They make for more precise organization."

_(You haven't seen what it looks like when I take notes__,__ then,)_ I thought to myself. _(Or when I try to __'__organize__'__ them.)_

I closed up the suitcase and finally left the Courthouse with Edgeworth, so we could catch up with Lana, Mia, Dahlia and the guards.

* * *

A police car would bring all of us to the Detention Center, but it wasn't Gumshoe's. Not that his car could have held so many people anyway.

"Wheeew, Pal, I'm seriously not looking forward to walking all the way home once we're done."

"Why not? I'm sure the exercise will do you well, Detective."

Edgeworth's remark made Gumshoe frown, but not in an upset way so much as in a shameful one.

"Home? Won't you come back to the Courthouse to fetch your own car, Detective?" I asked slightly confused.

"Can't. I'm lending it to Maggey, Pal," There was a strange smile on his face when he replied. "Poor girl doesn't have any other way to get home. I thought I might do her a favor and hand her the keys during the break."

"I remember now. Maggey's own car had an… accident?"

I got a subdued laugh for a reply.

"That's uhm… putting it nicely?"

_(Oh boy…)_

Still pondering what physics-defying 'Car Wash Incident' could have done that – whatever exactly 'that' was – to Maggey's car, I sat down and fastened my seatbelt. I was facing Edgeworth, Lana and Gumshoe. Mia and Dahlia where to my right and left, respectively. A sound of doors opening and closing told me that the guards were boarding the vehicle as well now. And then, we were moving. A few minutes passed silently. We were just looking at each other, saying nothing until I asked the question I expected to be the question that my fellow passengers seemed to be dreading.

"So... BD-7. What kind of case is that?"

Glances were exchanged, as if they had to make up their mind about who would tell me. Finally, Edgeworth spoke up.

"The BD-7 incident, also known as '_Vendetta's Peak'_ was a crime of the worst caliber: A homicide."

"And Dahlia was the Defendant, right?"

I could see Dahlia sinking into her seat from the corner of my eye as if the memory of the case was still haunting her nightmares. Edgeworth made only a short pause before he continued.

"It happened about three years ago and was a difficult trial. The Evidence was very unclear and certain facts didn't seem to match up. In the end, a verdict in favor of the Defense was spoken. The media, meanwhile, declared the case especially memorable because of the fact that the person who was exposed to have committed the crime ended up being… the Prosecuting Attorney assigned to the very same case."

"So you managed to figure out the Prosecutor as the true culprit and solved the case," I recounted, probably sounding far less impressed than I should have. After solving not one, but two cases just like this, it didn't exactly surprise me anymore. "Alright, but could you maybe tell me a few more details? Like… the circumstances of the killing. Who was the victim?"

And then, Edgeworth fell silent. I could see his shoulders sink as he lowered his head. I knew that it wasn't that he didn't want to tell me, it just was very hard for him for some reason. He took a deep breath and sighed. Just then Lana set him free from this misery and took over in his stead.

"The victim of the BD-7 case…" she began. "… was a talented, renowned veteran attorney. Very talented. Some, in fact, even claimed he was the very best."

_(A… renowned Defense Attorney?)_

This was the point where I understood. A talented veteran Defense Attorney… and Edgeworth reacting like he was in pain... I felt a cold shiver going down my spine when I realized where this was going. And for a moment, just for a short one…

"His name was Gregory Edgeworth."

… I wondered if maybe this was the true meaning of '_fate'_.

"Edgeworth…" I pronounced the name slowly, not entirely sure myself if I was addressing the one right in front of me here, or the deceased. Somehow I felt very lightheaded now. "… I'm sorry."

"BD-7 was the case that cost me my father," Edgeworth's head was lowered too far for me to see his eyes, but I could hear a very familiar bitterness in his voice. Perhaps too familiar, in fact. The cold feeling I had gotten earlier intensified even more. "Well then, Wright."

Edgeworth sat up straight again. He focused his eyes on me in a rather serious fashion.

"You still remember our childhood, correct? In that case, you should be able to deduce the culprit of this case rather easily from the name the media gave to it, I think."

'_Vendetta's Peak'_. I didn't even need to think of our childhoods to figure out this one. I knew exactly that there was only one second party this 'Vendetta' could have involved.

"It was Prosecutor Manfred Von Karma, wasn't it?"

Edgeworth turned his head away.

"Von Karma and my father… It started out as a simple rivalry between two men with clashing ideals. But over the years, it escalated. Because of IS-7…"

"IS-7?" I asked. "Another case?"

Turning his head back to me, Edgeworth proceeded to explain.

"Do you remember the first trial in which my father faced Manfred Von Karma? It was in December 2001."

I sharpened my attention even more. December 2001? Was he talking about the trial that led into DL-6? Or rather… should have led into it. I listened carefully. Maybe now I would, finally, at least get some clue about where I was. I wasn't the only one listening closely, though. While most other people in the car seemed to dread the thought of the cases Edgeworth was speaking of, Mia and Lana were notably calmer about it. Mia especially seemed to be listening in interest.

"I remember that… yeah…" I finally replied, albeit hesitantly. How different was my version of the events from his? Only one way to find out. "You… watched that trial yourself, right? I mean… I still remember how excited you were about it. When you got the permission to watch from your father, you'd do nothing but talk about it for days."

A faint smile appeared on Edgeworth's face while I spoke. Almost as if remembering happy times like this lessened the hurt of the more painful memories.

"Yes, I was there. My father had worked on this particular case for a year, after all. The least I could do was cheer him on. However, my father lost the trial…"

"Because Manfred Von Karma falsified evidence," I ended the sentence for him. "And… Gregory Edgeworth… Your father pointed it out, right? Von Karma was penalized for it."

Edgeworth nodded slowly, "The victim's body had been missing for most of the investigation, so no proper Autopsy could have been performed. Von Karma abused this fact to conjure up a fake Autopsy Report instead…"

I had to lean back. Again. Talking about falsified evidence… It made me feel so strange. Like I was turning numb, struggling to stay in reality but slipping over into a dream. I tried not to show how dizzy I was, though, and nodded to let Edgeworth know I was still listening. He didn't continue, though, as Lana made a comment,

"I read the case files. Von Karma's use of illegal, falsified evidence brought about quite a stir in the media. The newspapers apparently would not stop reporting of it for weeks – some in less than truthful manners. At the very least, the event damaged Von Karma's reputation."

"Yes. It was a spot on his stainless, record after all," Edgeworth nodded. "And thus, he couldn't forgive my father. Neither, however, could my father forgive Von Karma."

_(No mention of any earthquakes or elevators,) _I thought to myself as Edgeworth and Lana spoke on.

_(I was right. It's gone. The trial before it still happened, but DL-6 itself... Just didn't. That's why Edgeworth is the way he is now, and why things are so different in Kurain. But… what does that have to do with 'me'? The way 'I' am now? I don't understand… Maybe I should ask about the earthquake. Then again, changing topic like this might not be a good idea, when Edgeworth is just in the middle of explaining that other case__…__)_

"Wright?" Edgeworth's voice broke through my train of thoughts. "I assume you are still with us…?"

"Uhm? …Oh, ehm…" I quickly raised my head, trying to pretend I hadn't been lost in thought for the past thirty seconds, an effort doomed to futility, because Edgeworth had long figured that out and seemed the slightest bit irritated by my lack of attention. I tried to undo the damage by showing that I, in fact, 'did' listen to him,

"So, your father couldn't forgive Von Karma… because his methods were against the Law."

Edgeworth, however, shook his head, "It wasn't about the law as much as about the damage Von Karma's actions caused."

"The damage?"

"Wright, you have to know: My father, with all his knowledge and professionalism, was still an idealist at the core. …Not quite unlike you right now, if I think about it."

Hearing how Edgeworth actually drew a comparison between his father, whom he had always idolized so much, and me actually made me feel flattered. Though, I didn't let it go to my head. I knew all too well that before long, Edgeworth would go back to insulting me for my 'less admirable traits' again. That's something that'd never change. …But I don't think I would have it any other way.

"What Von Karma was doing, his absolute disregard for human lives and for their suffering… Those were unforgivable actions to my father. It was unacceptable to him, not only morally, but also on a personal level. By exposing the forged Autopsy Report, my father thought he could undo this 'damage'. But in the end, the sentence was only lessened, not changed to the extent that his client could have gone free. And as if that hadn't been enough, the young woman who lived under the care of the Defendant ended up homeless as a result."

I raised my head a bit, "Young woman… his daughter?"

"More or less. She was an orphan, and had never been legally adopted by my father's client. Still, the relationship of the Defendant to her was definitely of parental nature. That trial cost her her only family. And because she wasn't an official heir to his estate, she also lost her home."

I couldn't help it. The set-up sounded too familiar. Pictures would come up in my mind, putting different girls in the exact situation Edgeworth described. I saw Maya… Saw Pearl… Saw the little Trucy. Suddenly, words escaped my mouth before I could even think about it more,

"That man… should have adopted her officially," I heard myself say. "If he really loved her like a daughter, he should have made sure something like this could never happen to her."

Why was my hand balling into a fist? Now I was the one taking things personal. And suddenly, I could understand why Edgeworth said that all these things were unforgivable to his father. To him even more so than to me, I guess. After all, Gregory Edgeworth was a single parent himself. What picture must he have had going through his mind when he saw the scene of his client being led away and his daughter staying behind, crying? Did Gregory see his own son there? Did he maybe think something like _'And Von Karma could do this to Miles as well.'_…?

"I am sure he certainly had his reasons not to adopt her, whatever they may be," Edgeworth replied. It was easy to see that he was the one here who tried _not _to take the matter too personal. I would very soon find out why that was, too. "In any case, even after the trial had ended… It wasn't over to my father. He swore to expose Von Karma for what he really was, no matter how long it would take. He wanted to prevent other people from suffering similar fates as those involved in IS-7. Eventually, he became obsessed with it. He began to outright pick fights with Von Karma by deliberately choosing cases assigned to him. Don't misinterpret what I say; my father never lost sight of his ideals in the process. Still, there was a burning hatred for Von Karma that only kept growing with each of their encounters… And each loss against him he had to accept."

"But your father eventually won," I remembered. "… with your help, right? Detective Gumshoe told me about it."

"Yes. But I am afraid that this, as well as the final resolution of the IS-7 case, eventually caused the situation to escalate. Von Karma's reputation suffered and so did his support from various sides. My father, his first protégé and me… He saw us as the cause. And so, eventually, BD-7 occurred…

There was a short pause. Nobody said anything and Edgeworth, too, seemed to have to sort his thoughts a bit. Eventually, he proceeded.

"One day, my father received an anonymous letter. It was addressed to the entirety of the Edgeworth Law Offices, yet he would refuse to let me or my colleague read it. It was strange, so we both knew immediately that something wasn't quite right. Father left for the police department that day. He wouldn't let us come with him, and neither would he tell us why he was going there. Eventually, though, we decided that leaving him alone could not be the correct course of action. My colleague convinced me to follow after my father. But by the time I arrived..." he interrupted, closed his eyes, and breathed out, "…I saw a scene I had never wanted to see."

I saw how hard this obviously was for Edgeworth, so I felt a bit guilty over having asked him about the case in first place. Still, I couldn't stop yet. I needed to know details if I wanted to find out how that case could possibly connect to the current one on hand.

"Von Karma sent a letter?" I asked. "That is strange… He is not the type to leave evidence."

"And he didn't," Lana said. "The police analyzed the letter and it was impossible to find out the identity of the true sender. It was written on the most common computer with the most common font and the paper used was so spot-and-stainless, it was absolutely useless trying to analyze where it might have originated. The printer, the ink… everything used was so incredibly unassuming; it could have been written anywhere. As for the message itself, it was very laconic. A single sentence. There were no deductions to be made from it except for the fact that the killer tried to lure the entire staff of the Edgeworth Law Offices into the Police Department."

I tried to process everything I heard,

"The Police Department… A weird place for a murder."

"That's what made it so clever, Pal," I heard Gumshoe explain. "I mean, who would ever expect to be assassinated in a heavily supervised place like that?"

"…And yet, somehow, Evidence was sparse," Lana explained. "The victim was stabbed, but the murder weapon was Gregory Edgeworth's own knife and it held only his prints and those of Ms. Fey, who has been proven to have been framed. To this day, it is unclear how he did it, but... Somehow, Von Karma managed to set up the crime in a way that left little to no Evidence and no Witnesses. Except for one, of course: A single security tape. It was this tape that eventually proved Ms. Dahlia Fey's innocence."

Lana might have been the one speaking, but I was still watching Edgeworth as she did. At the mention of the evidence, he closed his eyes and leaned back, as if it was something he just didn't want to think about.

"But why was Dahlia there in first place?"

I heard a stuttering voice from next to me.

"It was a coincidence," Dahlia was looking out of the window, thankfully. I couldn't see her face. "I was on my way to an audition, passed by the Police Department, and found some papers that looked like files that must have fluttered out the window. So I went in to return them, but, somehow, nobody was there. I looked around in the building and suddenly, a man grabbed me from behind and cut me in the arm with a knife. I was scared. I kicked and flailed. The room was dark. When I could finally see where I was, there was a man with me… dead. And he held a knife. The one that cut me. I was so frightened, I didn't know what to do, so I ran away… but eventually, the police found and caught me."

"So you were a bystander…" I concluded and found that Dahlia, though still facing the other direction, nodded.

I sat back again, lowered my head, and closed my eyes. A case connecting so many people and events familiar to me in a very unfamiliar way. And yet, something still seemed amiss, something wouldn't let me stop wondering if there weren't even more connections that I just hadn't been told yet.

"What are you thinking about, Mr. Wright?" I finally heard Mia ask rather warmly from in front of me, just as if she was expecting a certain reply.

"I'm wondering where I come into this matter," I raised my head as I answered and turned to look at the man sitting by my side.

"Detective Gumshoe… You said the BD-7 case files were stolen from my Office yesterday?"

"The files were stolen?!" I heard Lana interject in surprise, so I turned to her,

"Not completely, just the copies in my office."

Gumshoe actually saluted when he gave me the report, "We are doing our best to apprehend the thief, Pal! We'll get them, don't worry."

This, however, wasn't the reason I had mentioned the theft at all.

"Why did I have those files in first place?" I asked, looking at everyone who was with me in the car, one after another. "If Von Karma was prosecuting the case, I shouldn't have had anything to do with it, right?"

"That's because you were the Prosecutor who was originally assigned to the case."

My eyes darted over to Lana.

"I was… What?!"

"From the moment my father's corpse had been discovered, Von Karma requested to prosecute the case," Edgeworth began to tell me, causing my attention to shift back to him. "I immediately knew that this was in no way a farewell gesture of any sort to my father. My suspicions wouldn't die down, and so, I decided to take the case… And asked Ms. Mia Fey here to aid me in keeping Von Karma from taking the lead of the Investigation."

I saw Mia nod, "With my connections to the higher ups in the homicide department, as well as to Lana, it was much easier to make them consider a different Prosecutor for the case instead. And Edgeworth immediately suggested you."

My eyes were back at Edgeworth.

"You did?"

"You seemed rather excited about it too," Edgeworth seemed to be reminiscing. "I remember all too well. _'Leave it all to me!'_ you would say_, 'I will revise the investigations all over, until there's no room for doubt! We will find the killer and bring him to justice, I swear!'_"

Edgeworth actually went as far as to imitate my voice when he recounted this, which made me shift uncomfortably in my seat. This _did_ sound quite a bit like me. And what Gumshoe had to add didn't exactly make it better.

"Oh, yeah, Pal, I remember that! You even held Mr. Edgeworth's hand when you said that and stared right into his eyes!"

And now, I was just plain embarrassed. Was I really that overdramatic? Oh, wait, it wasn't actually 'me', right? Yes, good, pleasant thought. I would stick with that.

"But...wait! Hold it, Pal!" Gumshoe made a small leap in his seat all of a sudden, "Mr. Wright… You _were there_, Pal! How come _we_ need to tell you all of that?!"

"Ehm…"

Oh, right. Nobody had told the Detective yet. His incredibly long reaction time had caused me to either forget or ignore – I wasn't quite sure anymore – this little detail. Now, how to make this as little awkward as possible? Thankfully, Edgeworth was kind enough to help me out here.

"It's a long story, Detective," he said. "One not worth dwelling on too long. You would do better not to think too hard on it."

"Uhm…" Gumshoe definitely didn't enjoy being left in the dark like this, but still decided to just comply with Edgeworth's suggestion. "Alright then, Sir…"

And this was as far as we would get. The car stopped that very second. Just moments later, the guards stood by the doors left and right. They unlocked them and led Mia and Dahlia out. Detective Gumshoe took to Lana. Edgeworth and I were the last ones to leave the vehicle. Our conversation had come to an end. However… that didn't mean I had stopped thinking about it. Actually, for every answered question, at least one new one had come up that I wished I could have answered. This BD-7 case… If I was the one the case had originally been assigned to, how come I never prosecuted it? And then there was also something else…

_(I …the 'other me', I mean… He promised Edgeworth he would find the true culprit. That means by the time this case happened they must have still been friends.) _

I pushed myself off my seat and exited the car, though I didn't pay particularly much attention to where I was going.

_(That means whatever caused everyone to hate 'me' happened sometime between that case and now. In the past three years! It might have had nothing to do with DL-6 after all! …But still… it's strange. Didn't Mia say something about me having a perfect record…? And why am 'I' a Prosecutor? …Something still doesn't make sense.) _

"The entrance is this way, Wright," I heard Edgeworth call me. "Are you coming?"

When I looked up, everyone else had already entered the building. I was spending too much time pondering and too little actually moving.

"Ahh… Yeah. Sorry," I said and finally followed. There was a lot I still wanted to know, but knew I would get my chance to ask. Later. When there wasn't a suspect waiting to be interviewed. I would say, 'Finally something I am good at,' but then again, the circumstances were entirely different here. I didn't know what exactly I had to expect.

* * *

I am quite sure, however, that I didn't expect _this._

"There… is already someone in there with the suspect, Sir," the guard told me.

"But I was supposed to interrogate him!" I stared at the guard in confusion for a bit, before my eyes shifted over to Edgeworth. "Is that normal…?"

Edgeworth, however, didn't look much less confused than me, "Of course it isn't. No visitors should be allowed when there is an interrogation scheduled. That is common sense."

He said the last part with crossed arms, closing his eyes in great disapproval, as if to tell the guard, _"__Shame on you__."_ I felt like this was directed at me as well, however. Me and my stupid question, that is.

"He wouldn't leave," the guard tried to explain himself. "And when we tried to explain that the suspect is being prepared for questioning, he just rushed past me and-"

"Thank you, that's quite enough," Edgeworth stopped the guard, his tone making it quite clear that he didn't need to hear excuses like this. And really, I could only agree with him. We didn't have a whole lot of time as it was, wasting it was the last thing we should do. We looked at each other.

"Let's go in. I'm a bit curious about who that 'guest' could be, anyway," I said.

Edgeworth nodded, "Yes, that would be a more productive way of approaching the matter than to simply wait for the guards to do their job and remove the intruder from the room, to say the least."

And so the two of us simply walked past the rather flustered looking guard – come to think of it, I almost felt sorry for him – and into the room. Barely had I opened the door even a bit, my question regarding the uninvited visitor was answered before I could even see him, merely from hearing the sounds of what was going on inside.

"_It can't get possibly worse than this, and you're still__ defending her?!"_

"_Because I'm in love!"_

"_No, you're an idiot! Everyone but you can see that she's just using you as some kind of human Master Key! I mean, open your eyes! She's only interested in you because you got father's book in your head!"_

"_Shut up! You don't know the first thing about her, she's nothing like that!"_

I probably don't need to describe the scene I was seeing, since you can probably tell already, but just to be sure, I am still going to try: Separated by nothing but a pane of glass, two boys, each fifteen years of age, were arguing while grinding their teeth. On the side behind the glass, we had Dylan Sengage, glaring like someone had just drowned his goldfish. On the other side, there was young Apollo, pressing his hands against the pane and staring the other boy down so intensely, his face, reflected in the glass had turned almost as hot red as his clothing. As soon as he noticed the sound of Edgeworth's and my steps as we came in, however, he turned around and faced us, needing a few moments to drop the expression he had used against his dialogue partner just seconds prior.

"M-Mr. Wright!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you-"

"Doing here? My job, I guess," I replied to the boy. "So, and now it's my turn. What are _you_ doing here? I thought you had gone home?"

"No… I..." Apollo started to say something. But all too suddenly, he stopped stuttering and fell silent. He just stared at me for a bit. Then, he glanced at Dylan for a moment. Then back at me. I shivered when he did, because his eyes had quickly turned from confused back to angry. But it was a different kind of anger from the one he had displayed towards Dylan just moments ago. While his anger at Dylan had been burning and hot, the way he looked at me right now was downright freezing cold. I found this far more unsettling from this kid than to see him spirited and aflame. And then, after a few moments of this cold silence, the boy finally spoke.

"So. Dylan is the new suspect now?" he said in an uncharacteristically flat voice. I looked at him, not sure how to respond. Finally, I just nodded.

"... I see," were Apollo's next words.

And then, after just about two seconds of waiting, he just got up from his chair, his eyes looking straight past me, at the door.

"I am going," he stated dully, with a hint of frustration in his voice, walking away with big, loud steps, as if he was just ignoring his sprained ankle – you could still tell it was there, though, because he was notably dragging one leg – through the door and out of the room. Silently, I watched after him as he exited, but he didn't honor me even one more look. When Apollo had left the room, the eerie silence returned. Only young Dylan's killing glare remained, except it was now directed at the door.

"…Odd boy," Edgeworth stated.

"I agree," it came from behind the glass pane.

"Me too," I had to nod my head and sigh. "…I think I might know what's wrong with him. I'd better go after him. Edgeworth, would you take over here for me for a while…?"

"The one supposed to conduct the interrogation is the Prosecutor in charge," he reminded me in a reproachful manner.

"Yes, but you know about my situation, right? So it doesn't really make much of a difference."

"... Alright."

Had it been anyone else but Edgeworth, he'd have added, "_But you owe me for this one_," but this was Edgeworth, so he didn't say it, merely implied it with his tone. It was enough for me to understand, though. I gave him a reaffirming nod and left the room to go after Apollo. I knew he couldn't have gone far with that injured foot of his, especially given the way he had marched out. It turned out I was right: I found the boy sitting on a bench in the waiting room, the injured leg crossed over the other one. His eyes were closed and he leaned against the wall behind him, grimacing like he was trying hard not to show that the sprained ankle was acting up now and that it was doing so with a vengeance. Or maybe, he was just in a very bad mood. His expression could really be interpreted as both. It probably was a bit of both anyway.

"Hey, Kid," I approached him, one hand up in the air, even though I knew he couldn't see it as his eyes were, as I mentioned, closed. He could clearly hear me, though. Instead of responding, however, he turned his head away and pretended I wasn't there. I could see him take a deep breath, as if to compose himself. For a few second I only stood there and waited for Apollo to give me a different reaction. When he didn't, I finally just sat down beside him. What now? Maybe I should have gotten straight to the point, but somehow I felt like that would have been odd.

"So, you came to watch the trial?" I had decided to start at the beginning. Apollo didn't move his head.

"Had nothing better to do," he mumbled. I didn't need to look at him to tell that was a sorry lie. Making his way down to the Courthouse must have been no small ordeal with that ankle of his.

"Ah, I see," I responded to his obvious fib. "And? How did you like the show?"

"…Was OK."

"That's nice to hear."

Unsettling silence, only interrupted by the sounds of a random prison guard sorting files in the background. Occasionally he looked over and gave us a glance. I couldn't fault him for that. This scene must have been too awkward to just look away. Especially because of how obvious it was that Apollo just wanted me to leave. And because of how obvious it must have been that I had no intention of doing so. Finally, the boy turned his head in my direction. His eyes were open now.

"You know," he said. His face didn't seem to carry any emotion whatsoever that moment. "I have been thinking about the stuff we spoke about yesterday."

"So?" I looked at him and tried appear warm and fatherly, but somehow I knew that I was failing miserably and probably just coming across as unintentionally creepy. "And, what do you think?"

"Well…

And then, way too suddenly, the corners of the boy's mouth warped into a weird, obviously forced and surely not happy smile. He closed his eyes. Then, pretty quickly, he raised his hand up to the height of his face and closed it so tightly I could hear his knuckles crack. Before I knew what was happening, I had his fist in my face.

_(H-He punched me…!)_

It took me a few moments to fully register that this happened, and by then, yelling, "Ouch!" already seemed a bit ill-timed, so I clenched my teeth and refrained from doing it. I just put my palm over my pulsating cheek – My bad luck had made sure it was the same one that had already been bruised the two days prior, making the pain even more noticeable, oh joy – and stared at the boy, who was now giving me a glare not unlike the one he had given Lana in court earlier.

"Dirty Liar!" he yelled at me, and somehow this hurt even more than the punch. For once I was sure that this wasn't exclusively due to his volume. "You said Dylan wasn't going to get dragged into this! You… You promised me-"

"… Did I now?" I tried not to show how much my cheek hurt – and I swear, it hurt a _lot_ – and instead made an attempt to retain my 'cool' – or probably rather 'creepy' – behavior from earlier, "Weird, because I don't remember ever promising anything. You were the only one who kept going on about how your friend had nothing to do with this case."

"Argh…!" Apollo obviously did not like my response. His fist seemed ready to hit a second time, God forbid, but thankfully, it didn't. Instead, he seemed content with drilling those unnaturally big eyes of his into my mind. "I-I don't even know what I was thinking! How could I ever believe that I can trust you? I…I don't even know you! If I'd just trust every random person who comes up to me and claims that I was…That I could possibly be… really good at something…! Just why was I so gullible? … And… And yet…"

I had finished mentally counting the teeth in my mouth to make sure the kid's sudden assault at my face hadn't led into the loss of any of them, in the meantime. That doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention to Apollo though, I swear. But now, he especially caught my interest again. It was a change in his behavior that began to come through as he was still speaking. He lowered his head, as if desperately trying not to show this other behavior to me.

"And yet…" he continued. "When you were down there… In that trial… When you kept attacking that girl… exposing her lies with that other man, one by one… Then pressing that other woman, even though everyone said it wasn't what you were supposed to do… Just… just because it was the _right _thing to do. I can't help it. You were… just so _cool_."

Despite what it might seem like, the anger was still in Apollo's voice, but now confusion and even a distinct note of reluctant admiration had joined in, making for this very bizarre mix that one usually only got to hear in a soap opera.

"I wish I could be… cool like that too… Just once."

"You were," I told him, shifting a bit closer to the boy on the bench. I put my hand on his shoulder. "The way you called out Ms. Skye in court today was amazing. I couldn't have done it better."

"Heh…" Apollo didn't seem to be taking me seriously. He crossed his arms. "Amazing? They threw me out."

"Only because you spoke out of order," I told him. "You refused to be a mere spectator, like you were supposed to be. That just made it all the more brave."

He turned his head to me.

"Brave? Or stupid?"

"Can't the two be similar sometimes?" I replied. "What you did might not have been the smartest thing to do, but you did it because you thought it was 'right'. That's what matters. It shows your priorities."

"…What do you think is my 'priority' then?"

"Well," I took a short moment to think, before I replied. "It's 'Justice', I guess."

"'Justice'…" he replied after me and started laughing a bit. "Right… I did say something like that, didn't I? In Court earlier."

"I noticed… When it comes to justice, you always speak your mind, openly, with no restraints, no matter what others may think. Even when you're scared," I told him. "I like that. I think it's a very good quality to have."

Apollo looked up at me.

"Is that why you told me those things yesterday? About becoming a lawyer?"

"Among other things, yes."

"What other things?"

I just gave him a meaningful look – at least I hope it was meaningful – and looked up at the ceiling. If I had started to explain my train of thought to the boy now, we would still have been here tomorrow. That was really more time than I could spare. Especially seeing how I had an Edgeworth waiting in the other room for me to take over for him. Of course, Apollo didn't understand the situation, so he must have taken my silence to mean something else. Most likely he ended up just believing that those 'other things' didn't exist and I just made it up to make him feel better. Maybe I should have said something to make sure he wouldn't think that. But I didn't. It's hard to explain, but maybe I just really didn't know what to tell him. I tried to think about why that could be, then I realized that this was actually probably my first time talking to a teenage boy like this ever since I had been a teenager myself. The closest I had ever come before to leading a conversation like this was with Maya or Ema. And that wasn't exactly 'close' to this situation, come to think of it. It was entirely different. But it wasn't just that. There was just something to that boy that made talking to him awkward in a way. It wasn't something cliché like 'he reminds me of myself at that age' either. In fact, that would have been far from the truth. Rather, it was something about him and only him. He was kind, but distrustful. He wanted to be someone, but had no self-confidence. He had a strong sense of justice, but didn't know what to do with it. In a way, he struck me as a 'seeker'. Someone who wants to make the best out of life but had no plan yet how to do that. Maybe I wanted to guide him, even though I had no idea how or where to exactly. After all, I knew how important guidance could be sometimes. And then, there was also…

"Say, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," I looked at Apollo again. "When you called Lana out in court today, you said something that confused me a bit. That you 'saw' her tense her muscles… When you said you "saw" it, you meant…"

"I meant just what I said," Apollo replied quickly. Then, he paused a moment, as if he was thinking about something. He seemed to get a bit lost in thought. "I know, it sounds ridiculous. And it was strange, really… But I suddenly just saw it, right there. Clear as day…" He sighed, "Or… Maybe I just imagined it after all. I don't know. It just felt and looked so real…"

"You didn't just imagine it," I replied.

Apollo's eyes widened, "Eh…?"

I began to explain, "After you were made to leave the room, Edgeworth and I had Ms. Skye take off her scarf. We found a wound from a narcotic dart that had hit her there."

"A…narcotic dart?!" Apollo exclaimed in surprise, clearly not sure if I was being serious or kidding. I tried to make it obvious that it was the former.

"The 'tensing' of her finger that you saw might have been an unconscious reaction of sorts to her remembering being hit by it. Hadn't you pointed it out, we would probably never have figured this out by ourselves."

"B-but…! How… Why…" Apollo shook his head a bit. "How…did I…"

"That's what I was going to ask you. Apollo. What exactly happened when you were up there in the gallery?"

"I… I don't know, really." If anything, Apollo seemed even more confused about the matter than me. He was pressing his hand into his forehead, cluelessly staring at the ground.

"The other day you said that you could 'feel' it when someone wasn't being honest to you…"

"Yeah… but I never took that all too serious," he claimed. "I… everyone… they all always just told me I was being delusional or something. I was going to just ignore it, because, well, yeah, they're right! It's too ridiculous! Too weird… I… I didn't think I'd… ever…"

"Apollo," I leaned forward and looked at the boy. "Have you ever done that before? Spot out tiny details that nobody else could pick up on without meaning to?"

"I… I don't think so…" He still seemed quite out of it.

"Then, was there anything that was different this time around? Something that wasn't there all the other times you had that feeling before?"

Apollo was silent. He stopped pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead and just gazed at the laminated floor now. I remained sitting next to him and waited.

"Actually… there was something," he began. "Someone. That girl…"

_(Is he talking about Trucy…?)_

"She was sitting next to me, during the trial. A strange girl. She was dressed up for something like a carnival. When I came, she was already sitting there, and there was no one with her. So I asked her where her parents were, but it turns out she was… alone. And then she asked me if I'd like to sit with her. We started talking. And then, during the trial…" He paused a bit, as if to remember the exact details of how it happened. "…She would stare at the witnesses. Whenever I had that feeling, that weird, tightening feeling, I'd turn to her and find her staring down there, right at the Witness. _"__She's lying__,"_ she would whisper. _"__I can see it real clearly, her lie__."_"

"Wait! That girl said that?"

Apollo nodded, "It was always just when I had that feeling again. I thought it was a coincidence at first, but then it had happened a few times in a row. Finally, I just wanted to know what she was trying to see down there and, well, I… I started staring too."

"And then you 'saw' it?" I deduced.

"It was so strange. I couldn't take my eyes off the Witness stand anymore. Like I couldn't see anything else," Apollo explained. "Time seemed to be going slower and I could see everything so clearly, every move that lady made, even her breathing. I felt so weird… Like I was in another world or something. Far away, from everyone and everything else…"As Apollo spoke, he more and more lowered his head. He began to fumble around with the bracelet on his left arm, spinning it a bit, first to the left, then to the right. "To be honest… it was scary. I didn't know what was happening to me. The idea that I might not 'wake up' again from… whatever it was frightening me. But when I turned to the side… That girl was holding my hand. And she was smiling. That's how I knew that I wasn't really alone."

"I see," I nodded. "So Trucy was the reason…"

Apollo's head rose again, "You know Trucy?"

"Only a bit," I admitted. "She's currently working with a good friend of mine. That's why she was there in the first place. That friend was watching the trial too, you know."

"Oh…"

_(If he kicked it off by imitating Trucy… Does that mean Trucy got the same ability as him? Whatever 'ability' that might be.) _I was pondering to myself, trying to make sense of it. _(Some kind of 'special vision' that lets you see things in abnormal detail when somebody lies? I've never heard of anything like that before, and now those two kids both have it… That's one insane coincidence. Still, he was right about Lana's scarf. He isn't just making it up, so there has to be something to it.)_

"Do you know where she is right now?"

"Hm?" I looked up and over to Apollo. "Who?"

"Trucy," Apollo responded. "I just wondered where she went after the trial. That's all."

I began to explain.

"Well, she was waiting for you in the Lobby."

"She…She was?"

"But you never came, so my friend brought her home."

"…Oh."

Seeming rather upset, Apollo just slightly spun the bracelet again, then looked at a window close by. I heard what sounded like bitter laughter.

"I'm a hypocrite," he said while staring at said window. "Calling out others for lying... I promised her I'd go out for some ice cream with her after the trial. But then, I saw them lead Dylan out... so I came here."

"I'm sure she's not mad at you," I told him. "She doesn't seem like the type to dwell on those things."

Apollo sighed, "It's weird. I don't usually make friends with children that much younger than me…"

_(Actually, you don't seem like the type who makes friends that easily__,__ period__,__ to me,)_ I thought to myself, thinking of Apollo's rather distrustful attitude from our first meeting. He really seemed more like the type to have just a small, tightly-knit circle of friends.

"I'd go with her another time, but I don't even really know where she lives. I wonder if we're going to meet again."

"You will," I nodded. "Trust me. It's a small world after all."

"Yeah…"

Apollo obviously said that last word more for the sake of saying anything than for actually meaning it. It was only now that he stopped gazing out of the window.

"You know… Trucy might not dwell on stuff," he turned to face me. I found that his eyebrows were pulled down dangerously much. "But I do. I'm still mad at you, Mr. Wright. I really trusted you, so… how could you do that!? Why did you accuse Dylan?"

I just barely refrained from biting my lip. Just the topic I had been trying to avoid.

"...There's something about Law you should know, Apollo," I tried to explain, as calmly as possible. "In Court, only Evidence and Testimony count. And the Evidence was against Dylan. As well as his own Testimony."

"Dylan didn't do it!" Apollo protested, loudly, standing up from his seat. "He's just covering for that girl! A blind person could see he's not a murderer! Evidence, schmevidence… what about common sense?! Doesn't that count at all?"

I looked away, "I'm sorry. It doesn't."

"But… That's stupid! How can people judge a person they don't even know like that? What about possibilities, like being framed? Or just being at the wrong place the wrong time? There's so many things that could go wrong! Dylan might be an idiot, but I know he'd never kill somebody! I swear it!"

As Apollo spoke like that, leaving no doubt about how sincere he was with every word he said, suddenly something came to me. A little idea, one that might not do much in the grand plan. But still, something that could change the situation, at least a bit, as well as giving Apollo a chance to contribute in a way that he was allowed to.

"Would you also swear this in court?" I asked the now-standing Apollo.

"Ehm…?" He looked down at me. "What… now?"

I got up from the bench myself, to stand face to face with the boy.

"You heard me. I would like to ask you to testify as a Witness before court tomorrow."

"A witness for what?" Apollo asked, apparently still not convinced I wasn't just fooling around. "I don't even know much about that murder!"

"But you know Dylan. You've been living with him for the past two years, after all," I explained. "Murder isn't something people just do out of a whim and the judge knows that. If you testify about Dylan's recent behavior and his general tendency towards violence, that could have a great effect on the final sentence, believe me."

"His… general tendency towards violence…?" Apollo mumbled, seeming suddenly suspiciously uncomfortable in his skin. "I… don't know…"

I just smiled in a provoking way. I felt the kid could use some provocation right now, "What? Feeling unsure? I thought you said you trusted him?"

"I-I do!" Apollo quickly shook off the hesitation. "Okay, I… I'll testify! If that's something I can do, I'll do it. Bet on it! And once I'm done, everyone will understand that it just couldn't have been Dylan. I'll make sure of it!"

Right then, probably for the first time since I had met him the day before, I saw Apollo smile. Not just a half-hearted, forced kind of smile, but a full, confident grin, all over his face. It wasn't the prettiest smile I had seen yet, but definitely one of the most energetic, ranking somewhere along the likes of Maya. I was glad to see him smile like this. Somehow, it suited him so much better than the gloom and doom expressions I had mostly seen him with before.

"That's just the answer I was hoping for!" I laughed, patting the boy on the shoulder.

Apollo nodded, and unlike his earlier 'Yeah', I knew that this nod had a meaning. He was going to make the best of what he could do. No doubt.

"Ehm… Mr. Wright. Just one more question?" Apollo asked, seeming a bit calmer.

"Hm? Yes?"

"Well, you know that I don't think Dylan did it," he begun. "So, if you are going to let me testify… Does that mean you don't actually believe he did it either?"

I thought a bit before answering the question.

"To be honest, I don't know," I finally answered truthfully. "On the one hand, there is a lot of evidence against him. On the other hand, there are still so many unanswered questions. And then there's also… the fact that I trust you."

"Mr. Wright…!"

Apollo looked at me with big, shining eyes. He looked… how to put it…touched, perhaps?

"I'm giving you this chance, kid. Go out and convince the court and me that Dylan Sengage is innocent. But don't think I'm going to make it easy for you. As long as Dylan is the only suspect, I'm not going to discount the confession he gave today without a valid reason."

"I'm ready!" Apollo stated, one fist clenched tightly. "You want a testimony? I'll give you one! One the whole Court will never forget, I swear! Come what may."

And, just like that, I had found myself my first Witness for the trial that would follow the next day: Apollo, Dylan Sengage's roommate in Sunview Orphanage. If anyone could shed light on the question if Sengage even had the mindset to kill a person, it'd be him.

Truthfully, I didn't know if Apollo's testimony was really going to be advantageous to Sengage. Especially his reaction to the mention of the other boy's tendency to violence had me wondering. But, then again, right now I was supposed to be against Sengage. And that I would be, until someone convinced me of the opposite. In the end, there were only two things that kept me from fully accepting the idea that it was him: An entirely irrational hunch… and Apollo. If Apollo ended up reinforcing that doubt, that was fine. But it'd also be fine if his testimony ended up dispelling it, even if that clearly wasn't in his intentions. In any case, I knew Apollo wouldn't lie. I trusted him, in all honesty. But would his 'truth' be his roommate's salvation, or the nail in his coffin? I couldn't tell yet. But I wanted to give Apollo the chance to make it the former. Without any lies. Straight and true. Even if he'd possibly hate me forever if it turned out to be the latter. But this wasn't what this was about, right? This was only about the truth…

…That's what I kept telling myself as the Defense Attorney within me kept acting up, yelling at me for even considering to "abuse" Apollo's honest nature and newfound trust in me this way, to possibly use his words against the person he was trying to protect with them.

Because in reality, all I wanted was for this case to end. I was tired. I was confused. And I had to realize that somewhere deep inside, a part of me didn't even care if Dylan Sengage was the killer or not.

* * *

_This monster hiatus was brought to you by: Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. Because when a Fangirl gets a new game in her A-Fandom, she'll have a hard time focusing on her B-Fandom for a while. Thankfully, I eventually managed to tighten my own leash and finally finish this chapter… Just in time to have my enthusiasm temporarily steamrolled by the news about GS5 that popped up._

_To clarify: Yes, I am happy Nick got his badge back. And he looks awesome. Just like I'd have imagined him to look back in action. But, no, I didn't want him to be the protagonist again. I just can't see that ending well, especially with Yamazaki writing the scenario instead of Takumi. I will be bluntly honest, I don't hold a whole lot of respect for Yamazaki's way of writing characters, especially after playing Gyakuten Kenji 2. Right now, I am just praying that this won't end in a character-development devoid catastrophe. Also, I feel pretty sorry for Polly. First orphaned in-game, then orphaned on a meta-level. He must be, like, the ultimate orphan. _

_On a more optimistic note, I am curious to see how GS5 will tie into the previous games. The least I can do is hope that they keep working with the Gramayre-plotline. I think there was still a lot to be explored in that regard. Also, it's pretty damn cute that Nick still has Trucy's locket so visibly displayed even on his redesign. And I love Kazuya Nuri's artwork. I am so glad he came back. _

_So yeah, my thoughts regarding this upcoming game are conflicted. On one hand, this could be the best thing since the invention of Green Iced Tea, on the other hand this could also be a disaster of Capcom proportions. I guess we can only wait and hope. TGS is in 6 days, after all…_

_I won't say too much about this chapter, because I realized that long rambling about what I intend my work to feel like only hinders you guys from interpreting it the way you want to, which is kinda contra-productive. If you have questions, though, feel always free to ask._

_I am having way too much fun writing Teen!Pollo, though it kinda has a bitter aftertaste now that I know that he's been pretty much abandoned again canonically, ahahaha. It feels like giving empty hope to the most doomed of the doomed. _

_The court record has been updated and put on the Fanfic's Tumblr Blog. Feel free to take a look there if you want to check on everything._


	30. Take Care

**May 3rd, 3:15pm**

**Detention Center**

I felt strange. Random thoughts were going through my mind, but fading again before I could even realize what they were about. There was a certain dizziness that wouldn't let go of me.

I felt dirty. I didn't know why. As soon as I had ordered one of the nearby guards to take Apollo home – I told the boy I would come and question him further in the evening, after the investigations – I found myself rushing to the bathroom and splashing my face with water. It helped a bit. Still I remained somewhat lightheaded. Didn't know if my talk with Apollo was the reason, but I considered it to be just that. After all, I had falsely assured the boy of something that possibly wasn't going to happen. Maybe I just felt disgusted with myself. I had occasionally told fibs before in court, and I was no stranger to pulling rather strong bluffs, but still, this was to an extent of an abuse of trust. Something that I would consider "unforgivable", if anybody did it to me. Or maybe, I was just reacting too sensitively? After all, I didn't even know yet if Dylan was the actual killer. If he wasn't, I didn't do any harm whatsoever. But if he was…

A Prosecutor's job was to doubt people. More than ever I now realized that this was definitely not something I wanted to do for a living. It went against so much that I believed in. It made me feel 'torn'. Just why did that other 'me' choose that occupation of all the possible ones out there? Even if he had a reason not to become a Defense Attorney, why didn't he just get his Bachelor in Arts then, like I had originally wanted to? He could have been an actor, or a comic artist! For all I care, he could have even tried to learn an instrument or just jobbed at some bar or restaurant in the worst case. But why a Prosecutor? It was a question I just couldn't answer.

Dealing with Apollo had cost me about fifteen minutes. It was now quarter past three in the afternoon, and about time I finally took the questioning over from Edgeworth. I made my way back to the room where I had left them. I opened the door rather silently so as not to disturb anything that might be going on at the moment. It turns out this was the right choice: Edgeworth was in the middle of questioning the boy. But not in the way I would have expected him to.

"…but I'm sure not every programmer knows how to crack this specific kind of system. I would call that quite a feat."

"There are a lot of systems I can't work with… I've just gotten pretty good with that specific kind."

"That specific kind? How come?"

"Well… I just thought it could be useful for something! Yeah, that's all."

"…I see… You really seem to have a way with computers, don't you? That's quite an ambitious field of expertise for someone as young as you."

"It's really not that hard! Programming languages are languages too. You just need to know all the right words and grammar. Actually… learning to program is kinda like learning to speak a language and learning to lock-pick at once."

"Oh, is that so? Fascinating."

_(What are they talking about? The boy's hobbies? But Edgeworth's never been one for idle chatting...) _I thought to myself, unsure of what I was watching. Edgeworth seemed unusually relaxed; in fact, he had one arm comfortably, placed on the table before him. I didn't make my presence known yet. Something about this was too interesting to not watch it. Sengage continued to speak. He seemed to be on a roll.

"Yeah, it really is! I'm so glad I started learning German, you know! Otherwise, I'd have never even realized how similar that is!"

"You do speak German? That is quite interesting. So you have interest in foreign cultures too. A studious young man, just as I expected."

"Ah… I didn't really learn it for myself," Sengage seemed flustered. He scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. "I did it for… uhm… Someone needed translation. And because I learn so fast, I wanted to help."

"Because of your Eidetic Memory."

"Yeah, it's pretty useful for stuff like that!"

"I see… Well then. Let us talk about something else now."

"Something else? Like what?"

"Like your exact involvement with Lilie Heatherd's work as a Defense Attorney."

Sengage's mood changed suddenly. He glared at Edgeworth, "That again? I already told you, I'm not helping Lilly with her job at all! Is that so hard to remember?"

"Is that so?" Edgeworth replied, before he made a short, rather suspicious pause. There was a confident smile on his face. A smile I knew all too well from Court. It was that moment that I realized… He had the boy cornered. I didn't know how, but his face said so.

Edgeworth ended his pause, "Earlier you displayed remarkable knowledge of the computer systems used by the police. Knowledge you shouldn't be interested in. You couldn't tell me a valid reason why you acquired this knowledge, either."

"S-So what?" I could see Sengage swallow noticeably, but he was trying to stay stubborn. "I just like computers. You said so yourself!"

"That's not all, though," Edgeworth continued. "Just now, you said you learned to translate German. Not for yourself, but for someone else. What if I suggested now… That you acquired both, the knowledge of the Police Computer System and this ability to translate German for Ms. Heatherd's sake?"

Sengage was sweating.

"…What? Why should L-Lilly want me to read German? What'd she need that for! There's plenty of Defense Attorneys who don't speak German! Proof!" he demanded. "Do you have any proof that she'd have any interest in translating German?"

Edgeworth frowned just slightly.

"Well, I don't have exact proof. However…"

"…I can prove it."

That was me. I had finally stepped into the conversation. Now I had understood what the whole point of it had been. And how I could contribute to it.

"Lilie Heatherd is obsessed with foreign cultures," I spoke, as Sengage's eyes shifted over to me in shock and Edgeworth, too, turned to face me. He looked interested. I continued, "She contributed about fifty concepts to the Asian Theme Week in the cafeteria and is constantly seen eating imported food. She's also already proven herself to be more than just impatient. If anyone would want a quick way to translate a foreign language accurately whenever she wants, it would be her."

And Edgeworth smiled, "Thank you, Wright. This was very helpful indeed."

Sengage was sweating bullets. Huge, heavy drops of water were running down his face as he cradled himself a bit, as if he was hoping for someone to come and give him a protective hug. Edgeworth turned back in his seat, his eyes locked on Dylan once more.

"…As you can see see, Mr. Sengage, your lock-picking skills, your ability to hack into the Police Computer Systems to acquire information and, yes, even your ability to speak German. Especially the latter two are abilities you yourself would never have benefitted from all too much. But there is one person who would definitely have benefitted from them and had many occasions to use them to her advantage: Defense Attorney Lilie Heatherd! The infamous "Evidence Spammer"… You are the secret of her success! You acquired these skills for the sole purpose of aiding her in the gathering of Evidence and Information! "

It was such a familiar sight when Sengage sat there for just a moment, frozen on his seat, clinging to it with both hands and eyes opened wide. The shock needed a bit to settle. And then, when it had sunk in, when he had realized how much information he had accidentally given away to Edgeworth, how Edgeworth had successfully drawn out everything he had wanted to know from him, simply by approaching the topics in a roundabout way… Sengage grabbed his own shirt, clutched it, shrank away, and screamed.

"G-GAH!"

I myself was stunned and amazed, and just stared for a while. Finally, I understood how Edgeworth had done it all these years. How he had always gotten these incredibly detailed testimonies and information about the Witnesses… How he could get people to let him know so much about things they clearly didn't want to reveal…. This was it. He tricked them. He preplanned his steps while questioning them, acted quickly to keep the dialogue dynamic enough to confuse them, led them into a false sense of security or urged them to become careless in any other way, and then, when they would give away even the slightest detail too much, he would strike and latch onto it. It was strategic thinking at its finest. I shouldn't have expected anything less from him.

In any case, Sengage now seemed rather intimidated and wide open for questioning. The look of him reminded me of someone who just had his Psyche Locks broken into a thousand shards. Given the situation, this was likely what had just happened, anyway. And Edgeworth hadn't even needed a Magatama to do it. Again, I was impressed. Edgeworth himself seemed pleased.

"A-Alright…" Dylan finally uttered. "You got me, OK? You got me. Yeah... It's true. I… I've been helping Lilie gathering Evidence for her cases…"

"Hm. Just as I suspected. Checkmate." Edgeworth raised himself from the chair and offered it to me. "I think I have gained quite enough information to work with for now. He is all yours, Wright."

"This is more than I could have hoped for… Thank you, Edgeworth," I nodded, before I sat down on the offered seat and bent forward to face Sengage.

"So, you have been breaking into Crime Scenes and stealing information from the Police… for Heatherd."

"So… So what?! It was still me who did these things, not Lilly! You'll never be able to prove she even knew about it!" The boy grew louder as he spoke until he was finally yelling. He kicked the wall separating us from him so hard, I could hear the glass swing back and forth. He then smacked his hands onto the table. "I'm a murderer! You cannot do more than lock me away, because I'm still a child, right? So we'll both be fine! Lilly and I will be well and happy and you can't do a thing about it!"

"I wouldn't exactly call your situation 'fine'," I told the boy before me. "You confessed to a murder, you know. If you are declared 'Guilty', you won't see anything but this prison for a long time… Aren't you worried at all? Aren't you scared?"

He started shaking his head violently.

"I am not! I don't care if I am here or anywhere else. As long as I can still see Lilly, everything is alright! And… and…" The boy became a bit calmer. There was a determination on his face that had to be seen to be believed. "…And once I am out of here… I'll be an adult! Once I'm an adult, nobody will tell me what I'm supposed to do anymore. Nobody will call me 'too young' or 'too naïve' or say anything's 'too dangerous' and then… Then I'll marry her! You'll see!"

"M-Marry?!" I backed off a bit. Who would think of something like that in the Detention Center? "You and who? Heatherd?!"

"Yeah, Lilly and me!" He clarified. "We'll be together, and nobody is going to complain! Nobody will keep me away from her! Not the caretakers, not stupid 'Pollo and not you!"

This was seriously starting to make my head spin. I thought I would never find a person possibly even more deluded with love than a certain friend of mine, but this boy had just gone and done it. I leaned forward.

"Mr. Sengage… No, Dylan. I can call you Dylan, right?" I asked this question, but went on before he could answer it. "Calm down and think about something, for just a moment, OK? 'Lilly' is a Defense Attorney. Defense Attorneys need information. You have a talent for getting and 'storing' information. You can open every door and crack computers. You were even able to erase the entirety of the security footage of the murder without leaving any traces."

As I spoke to him, Dylan turned his head away from me, crossing his arms before his chest. There was a stubborn look in his eyes at the same time. However, he was also still cowering noticeably. I went on.

"Did you really, really never consider that '_that'_ might be part of the reason you are important to her? Even if that's not all? She's a young woman. You're just a child. And as I see it, she's already repeatedly brought you into potential danger for selfish reasons."

"She's never made me do anything!" Dylan denied all I said fiercely. "Everything I did, I did because I wanted to. If anyone's selfish, it's me! Yeah, I have been selfishly helping her for my own, selfish self! That's it!"

_(That's an… interesting way of putting it.)_

I was still thinking through his statement to determine if it made sense or not, when Dylan had already gone on.

"I did repeatedly intrude into Crime Scenes and hack into Police-owned Computers, yeah. But can you prove that it was _her _who made me do it? For all you know, I could just have given her the information anonymously all the time! She would never even have known that it came from me."

"She knew about the book you got memorized," I refuted. "Even if you handed her the evidence anonymously, she'd still not have had a hard time figuring where it came from."

"Still, that doesn't make her a criminal!" He replied. "The one who stole the information was still me, right?"

_(He's ironically trying to defend her with all he's got… Just like Apollo said.) _

I heard Dylan continue on, "I don't even know what your problem is! You just wanted to find the killer, right? Well, I am the killer! Shouldn't everything be fine now?"

"We want to find the _real_ killer, Dylan," I corrected him. "The person who actually killed Ema Skye. As long as there is a chance that it wasn't you, this case isn't over, I'm afraid."

And then, Dylan was glaring at me again. He was leaning forward a bit now, "But I thought the current Court System was all about speed!"

" The Court System, maybe, but not my Cases on my watch."

"Well, you're wasting time, then! I killed Emmy, and no Investigations you're gonna do will ever say anything else!"

"How well did you know her?" I finally asked. "You keep using that nickname…"

Dylan's expression changed. The angry glare disappeared, instead his eyes slid to the side. He was staring at the tiles on the ground in a melancholy way now.

"She was three grades above me in school," he began to mumble. "…And totally obsessed with chemistry and forensics."

_(That sound like Ema alright.)_

"Complex themes like that… A girl her age...! W-When you're into stuff like that, it's not always easy in school, you know. They… they tend to make fun of kids who like to talk about things like that a lot… you know…" And as he said that, he started rubbing his hands nervously. For some reason, I found that the boy was also blushing violently. There seemed to be something very personal to him in that story.

"…You said you had a crush on her," I recalled his words from during the trial.

"B-But only for a year or so!" he quickly interjected, before he shrunk back again. "I-I never really brought up the courage to talk to her. I just kinda watched her from afar… I… I don't even know if she ever noticed I was even… there…"

I stayed silent for a bit. There was a noticeable blush on Dylan's face as he spoke. A bright, warm red that made him look even younger than usual.

"Somehow I find it very hard to believe you could have actually hurt her," I finally said. "Not if you liked her."

Dylan quickly snapped at me, "T-That was years ago!"

"But you still felt some attraction to her, right? Your look gives it away."

The boy's eyes shifted away again. He kept rubbing his arms with his hands as if he was feeling cold, even though the room temperature wasn't exactly low. He didn't seem to know what to say.

"…I…have Lilly," he finally responded. "She's all I still have… And all I need."

Only then, Dylan brought himself to look at me again. There was a certain determination in the way he did.

"And if the whole world turns on me and casts me out. Even if everyone else hates me. As long as I have my Lilly, I'm happy."

The seriousness the boy said this with got to me. There was a sadness in his voice that I recognized just all too well. And I found myself finally wondering what he must have gone through, back then, when his father died. When he ended up all alone in the world. From the sound of it, he didn't have any friends his age, either. … His devotion to Heatherd began to make a certain amount of sense. After all, having just one friend in the world could ease so much of the pain of having been abandoned. And that made me wonder…

"In any case… About your Defense. You know that you have the right to an attorney. Have you-"

He didn't even let me finish the sentence.

"Lilly," he said, leaving me puzzled for just a moment, before I remembered one fact about Heatherd that I had already completely forgotten. Of course. "Lilly wants to defend me. She said so when I called her earlier."

"So, Heatherd is going to be the Defense," I repeated to myself. "…Wait. I thought you wanted to be declared "Guilty"? Why would you let her defend you then?"

I got an uncomfortable laugh as a response, "Ehm… It's not about me wanting her to. She's just kinda… doing it."

"You could always decline her," I said.

"I tried to," he claimed, his eyes shifting away again. "But… she demanded it. She said she couldn't abandon me. That she wouldn't risk me being declared "Guilty", just because she wasn't there."

_(Does Heatherd really want to get a Not Guilty for this boy?)_ I wondered to myself. _(His confession got her out of hot water. As long as he is the Prime Suspect, she is safe of any accusations whatsoever. But… I don't think she would take this Case to lose it on purpose. That wouldn't fit with the way she behaved in Court earlier.)_

Thinking through the entire scene again to myself, I finally reached a conclusion of sorts.

_(… Maybe she actually does care for him? That's the only explanation…)_

That, however, would mean that Apollo's judgment, at least regarding Heatherd, was wrong. Which made it all the more likely that he was also wrong about Dylan Sengage. Then again, Dylan was his roommate. He had to have spent a lot more time with Dylan than he probably ever had with Heatherd. In short, it was probably still too early to say anything at all.

"So Lilie Heatherd, the 'Evidence Spammer' is taking the Defense," I heard Edgeworth talk to himself from the side. He, too, seemed to be pondering about something. I turned to address him.

"She won't be able to 'spam' evidence she doesn't have, though," I said. "I mean, it was you who figured out that Dylan was how she got hold of her evidence in the first place, right? That means she's cut off from the source now."

"Wright, don't forget how tightly this woman is tied to this case," he warned me. "She might not need Sengage to access her usual amounts of evidence in this case. You would do well not to underestimate her…"

"Didn't you tell me she wasn't especially good, aside from her tactics?" I asked Edgeworth.

"I am not telling you to take her serious because of her potential performance, but because of _yours_," he explained with a serious look in his eyes. "In comparison to Heatherd, you are clearly the more talented Attorney. This is entirely out of question. However, overestimation of one's own abilities is the first step to growing… _careless_. You are prone to acting rashly, Wright. Prone to making tiny, silly mistakes. This is a way of acting that does _not_ mesh well with any form of "pride". Should the idea that you are in the clear advantage weaken your usual caution too much, this could lead you into a pitfall. I am just telling you to be careful."

"…_Be careful_…"

I didn't know why I repeated the warning. For some reason, though, Edgeworth's words had really left me somewhat… what's the word? 'Numb', maybe. It's hard to explain. I couldn't have described it very well, even if had I tried to. Somehow, what he had said had just struck a certain 'chord' for me. I felt reminded of something, but I didn't know what. All I could say was that it made me feel… just a bit sad. Before I knew it, I had closed my eyes.

_('Be careful,') _I found myself repeating once more, in my thoughts. _(…Edgeworth…)_

It was strange. Thoughts came to me, but I couldn't entirely tell why they did. I lowered my head.

_(Had you been there that day, then maybe… Maybe what? I don't even know…)_

I took a breath. More thoughts.

_(And Maya… I can't help but keep thinking… of how quiet everything is without her…)_

"Another reason not to grow careless is the fact that Heatherd's involvement in this case is of personal nature."

Edgeworth's voice had broken the sound of my own thoughts and called me back to the present. I quickly opened my eyes and paid attention.

"She will be rather determined to win, unlike most of her previous cases. This might motivate her to use methods and tactics she wouldn't usually resort to…"

"… And we know that morals wouldn't exactly keep her from having a 'less than legal' edge with those," I finished in his stead. "Understood. I'll be prepared."

"That would be for the better," he nodded.

The rest of the interview went fairly standard. I asked Dylan about all the details regarding the crime. The timeframe, how the deed was committed, if it was planned, and so forth. Naturally, he responded exactly as he had during the trial. Every detail he mentioned, I had heard before. Drugging Lilie Heatherd, drugging Lana Skye, hitting Ema with a blunt object, the bloody note, the suicide note, the manipulated crime scene, the ripped gloves… He didn't leave out even one detail in his explanation. Everything that should have been mentioned was mentioned without me having to bring it up. Of course. The boy had a perfect memory. He wouldn't forget a detail. This didn't mean that he was actually there… And made the matter even harder to sort out. Though, there was one thing even the boy's photographic memory couldn't cast in a different light.

"Well then, Dylan Sengage. Before we wrap this up, I'd like to ask you one last time..."

My eyes were focused on the boy. I was trying to watch his reactions, his emotions, to just interpret everything he would do. In my pocket, my fist enclosed the warmly glowing Magatama.

"…Did you kill Ema Skye?"

And Dylan looked at me. His mouth was only slightly opened. His lip was shaking. He hesitated, just a moment. Then, he spoke.

"Yes. I did."

A loud sound only I could hear. A clear picture only I could see. Three Psyche Locks obscured my vision of the boy. Three big, red Psyche Locks.

And I breathed out. There was a light, calm feeling in my chest – relief, maybe? Yes, relief. Dylan didn't do it. He was lying. Which meant the other boy, Apollo, had been right. And I hadn't lied to him. I hadn't… There was someone else, a different killer we would have to…

My relief suddenly vanished and was replaced by a cold shiver going down my spine. _A different killer._ So, if Heatherd couldn't have done it and Dylan didn't do it either… Who did? Who else could have done it? Who could have entered the apartment? I recalled the list of fingerprints again…

… I felt like I was going to be sick.

I realized: I had no suspect anymore. Not even a lead to one. How much longer was this case going to last? Even with the new trial, that still only left three days to solve it… Three days! And given how impatient Heatherd was, I wouldn't even be able to take those three days for granted. She would search for a scapegoat as quickly as possible, no doubt. Probably someone… from the list. _That list_.

… Me. Ema. Iris. Dylan. Of course, then there were Maya and her mother, both of which had been close to the Crime Scene, but did not touch the door with their bare hands. They, however, didn't have the keycards needed to enter the door.

I didn't do it. Ema was the victim. Dylan didn't do it either. That left…

_(…No.)_ I thought to myself. _(I…I don't know what this means. But it can't mean that. I just know it can't. There has to be a different solution. But what? I am out of ideas… Is there anything I missed?)_

I knew that mentally going back and forth through the list of people who could have possibly done it wouldn't change anything. I remained as clueless as before. Yet, I kept doing it. I wanted to have a lead, a hint, something! I was just feeling sick. Sick of this case, sick of how confusing everything was, sick of being in a role I didn't want to take… Homesick. I wanted to go home.

I couldn't. Not as long as this wasn't solved properly. I owed that to Ema and to Lana. But how to solve it when all my leads turned to smoke almost as soon as I got ahold of them?

"Sir?" about a minute must have passed when Dylan spoke again. "Excuse me, but, why are you staring at me? I already answered your question, right…?"

I quickly closed my eyes and shook my head a bit.

"I… It's nothing," I lied and sat up straight again. I tried to look at the boy in a normal way. "So, you personally would plead 'Guilty'…?"

Dylan slowly nodded his head.

"I see. But Heatherd…"

"She's going to plead "Not Guilty". I know she will," Dylan's voice was somewhat subdued when he said that. He turned his head away and sighed. "Lilly…"

" … '_She would do anything to protect me_.' That's what you are thinking, right?" I spoke the words I believed to be on the boy's mind. He looked back at me, visibly having granted me some of his attention due to my words. So I put my hands on the desk before me and said more, "… And likewise, you would also do anything to protect her… right?"

Dylan jerked his eyes wide open. He seemed to not have expected me to reason like this and remained speechless. Because of this, there was little stopping me when I went on.

"Dylan… The feeling of wanting to protect a beloved person, even if it means lying or even sacrificing yourself… I know it. But, trust me. It's not worth it. Not for her, and not for you. Because if she really loves you…" I leaned forward a bit. "…Then seeing you be hurt like this for her sake will inflict a scar on her that won't heal. So, even if you don't care about yourself… Do you want to risk hurting her?"

Once more, he hesitated. I could see how insecure he was. Maybe even scared. Finally, his head facing the floor, he mumbled, "She… She won't see me hurt…"

He looked back up at me, "I'll not be hurt. Not as long as she's there. I… I'll smile!"

"Do you think you'll actually be able to smile once it happens?" I asked him and I noticed worry in my own voice.

"I will. I will smile… to the very end, if I have to. As long as she believes in me."

Even more words that struck a chord for me. I bit my lip.

"… I see."

"Wright," Edgeworth addressed me from behind. "I think this is all we are going to hear for today. The boy is likely not going to change his mind."

"Yeah… And we had an appointment at the Crime Scene," I agreed. "It'd probably be better if we moved on for now."

That said, I began to move off my seat and stand up. As I did, Dylan's voice reached me one last time.

"…Sir?"

Surprised, I turned around to him again.

"Yes?"

He seemed unsure still, yet made an attempt to say something.

"Well… Please be… careful…"

"Careful?" I tilted my head just a bit. "Do you mean because of the trial…?"

I asked this, knowing that it made little sense coming from Dylan, but it was the only possibility I could come up with. I wouldn't find out if I was right or wrong, though. He never gave me a reply. Instead of talking anymore, he kept rubbing his arms with his hands, his eyes nervously darting all around the room.

"…Let us go, Wright," Edgeworth urged me, as I was still staring at the boy in a puzzled way.

"Right…" I said, and finally took my eyes off the child.

The image of him looking at the ground, pulling his arms close to his body would be the last I saw of him until the trial the next day.

* * *

_Well, Dear Readers! Here we are again!_

_The bad news: This is a fairly short chapter._

_The good news: I have two more in stock already~! And soon, it will be three!_

_Yeah, I was on vacation on a cruise ship with my parents, but since motion sickness prevented me from doing much of anything else, I ended up writing a whole lot of Fanfic. The other things I did were play Persona 3, replay Gyakuten Kenji 2 and read some Kingdom Hearts Novels. You now know everything I did on a five star cruiser. Hurray for Motion Sickness!_

_I am currently a bit busy, so this author's note won't be too long, but before you wonder, yes, what Edgeworth does in this chapter is Logic Chess from GK2. It works pretty much exactly like that. It's probably my favorite thing about the game and I love it. _

_Anyway, I will probably upload the next chapter in a week. And it's probably going to be longer than this one too. Until then… See ya, guys!_


	31. It Can't Be Undone

**May 3rd, 3:50 pm**

**Apartment Building**

The air in the room still smelled of blood. Ema's blood. I tried not to think of it, which was even harder to do right now, since I couldn't stop wondering how _she_ dealt with it. And by '_she'_ I mean Lana.

"Will it take long?"

"Don't worry, Ms. Skye, we're almost done setting everything up in the bedroom."

She didn't look absolutely calm, of course. Her hands were shaking and I occasionally found her eyes darting around the place. Considering where we were here, I was surprised she had insisted to tag along. Then again, maybe it wasn't _too_ great of a surprise, given who else was soon going to be here.

The person who has answered Lana had been Maya. She was dressed in medium garb again, though I had no idea why she had found that necessary. After all, it wasn't _her_ who was going to channel anyone. And even though I still didn't mind seeing her like this, slowly it had begun to give me a bad feeling. As if I was afraid it would eventually take away my ability to distinguish between her and 'my' Maya. There were five people present in the room right now, which might not sound like much, but was enough to make it feel just a bit crowded. There were Lana and Maya, of course, then Edgeworth, myself... And then there was Iris. Standing by my side, her eyes closed, her breathing a bit nervous. Her left hand was in a tight grip around the pink Magatama on her necklace. Her right hand I felt shaking enclosed in my left. We were holding hands.

It was a strange feeling, standing by her like this. I wanted to help her, take away her fear and be there for her. That's why I kept holding on. That's what was normal and had never changed. Still, something was amiss. The feeling of holding on so tightly to her small, fragile hand… it was tainted by the uncomfortable idea that I was 'pretending', giving her the feeling that there was something, right here, right with the two of us, that wasn't actually there. I wanted to help her, but what she really thought I was giving her… I knew I couldn't give it. Now more than ever, I realized that I didn't love Iris Fey anymore. Not the way I used to, at least. And it made me feel guilty. Why couldn't I bring up the same feelings I used to, when I knew exactly that she hadn't done anything wrong? When I had told her that she really was the person I had fallen in love with, so long ago? Had too much time passed? Had I changed too much? But how much did I really change? The way I dress, the way I talk… those were just superficialities. They didn't matter that much. Not as much as the way I feel about things and view them, at least. But how did I use to view things and feel about them? I realized that it was hard to recall right now.

Then, of course, yet another thought crossed my mind. After all, this 'Iris'… She wasn't the same 'Iris' I had known, right? The girl I had mistakenly called "Dollie" for half a year... That wasn't her. What makes us who we are is our choices and actions, Edgeworth had told me. This Iris had never had the chance to make any of the choices 'my' Iris… "Dollie" had made. So it wasn't the same person, no matter how familiar she seemed, right? Could that have been the real reason why it felt so wrong, standing so close to her and holding on to her shaking hand? Because I knew I wasn't 'her' Phoenix?

I was starting to confuse myself.

Maya kept moving back and forth in the apartment, carrying around candles and banners of sorts that she would bring to the bedroom and spread them out there. She said she was setting up the 'right atmosphere' for Iris to conduct the channeling. I wasn't sure how important this could possibly be, given that, back in my world, Maya herself had never needed much of an 'atmosphere', even less candles or snippets of paper, to actually channel a spirit, but I wasn't exactly an expert on those things and Iris probably could need any help she could get. I would have loved to help Maya decorating, hadn't I been busy standing by Iris' side, trying to calm her. Even if this effort currently consisted entirely of us holding hands, and uncomfortable silence on my part.

"Well then… I think Maya is going to finish up soon. Are you ready, Iris?" I finally asked her, in an attempt to break my own awkwardness. The result was that I felt how the young woman's fingers pulled tighter around mine. She lowered her head.

"What if I fail?" she whispered with a thin voice. Her already pale skin was pretty much white right now. "There's a chance that I'll… not be able to call her."

"You did it before," I tried to sound assuring.

"Yes, but… During the trial…It was…"

Iris didn't seem any less helpless. She pulled closer to me. I tried not to show that I wasn't entirely comfortable with that. She didn't deserve to feel like she somehow upset me. It wasn't her fault I felt the way I did.

"Iris, I know you can do it. But… if you don't want to do it, you shouldn't," I told her. "Nobody will force you."

She hesitated just a second, but then Iris shook her head. "N-No," she said. "I want to. If it is a way I can contribute… and help, then I want to try."

As if to make herself calm down, Iris then took a deep breath. I could feel how her grip on my hand loosened a bit. "Phoe…Feenie…"

She tried to look at me. But in the end, she closed her eyes again before she even begun her sentence, "Today I remembered… what a strong person you are. I could see so clearly, how much it meant to you, this Case. And how hard you were fighting for it. And then I came to wonder why it is that I am so weak…"

"Iris…" I wanted to say something. It genuinely hurt to see her put herself down so much. But I had trouble finding words that would sound sincere enough. In the end, I didn't need to. She spoke on before I could.

"As I am, I can only rely on others to become my power. I have always done this. I have never dared before to rely on my own strength alone. I need my sister… and I need my family and you to draw power from. But… this is not my own power, you see. I am not worthy of being called a 'Fey', if my only power is that of others. If I continue like this, I will always be nothing but a burden to others and never be able to rely on myself. And if I cannot rely on myself, how should Kurain? I need my own strength. Something to call my own…"

_(That's right… Edgeworth mentioned that Iris always shared almost everything with Dahlia. I wonder if that is part of the reason her self-esteem is so low right now? Then again, she is right. If she needs her sister to retain her self-worth, it isn't really her 'own strength'…)_

Maya had told me about it. Just once, the day we first spoke. The Fey women needed to be self-reliant to retain their powers. She had never fully explained what she had meant, though… I had caught a glimpse of what happens if their powers wane. Maya hadn't been able to call Mia that day. And the more she tried and failed, the less her attempts worked. It was probably true… The Feys' powers and their belief in themselves were connected.

"…For this reason," Iris finally opened her eyes now. Trying to smile, she looked at me. "I am going to work harder and be stronger. I will have my own power. And I will begin with it right here and now."

She then paused for a moment, "Does this sound… reasonable?"

I waited a bit to consider which answer would be the best to this question. Then, I replied, "There is nothing unreasonable about it. Actually, I even think it sounds like a very good ambition to have for anyone. Especially if you start with realizing it right away."

That said, I smiled at her. And she smiled back. In that moment, just those few seconds of us looking at each other with smiles on our faces, holding Iris' hand didn't feel awkward in the least anymore. There was a warmth that felt familiar. It reminded me of those last few days of summer, long ago…

"Alright, all done!"

It was just then that Maya left the bedroom, rubbing her hands in triumphant satisfaction. There was a wide grin on her face.

"Our Channeling Chamber is set up! Here you go, Iris!"

Iris looked at me once more before she did anything else. There was still some insecurity in her eyes. I tried to give the best reassuring smile I had in stock. Then, I nodded at her. Hesitantly, she let her hand slip away from mine. She turned to Maya and stepped towards her, away from me. The two girls entered the other room together.

"Closing this up, to make it more authentic, OK?" Maya just told us, before she shut the door behind her. Apparently, I had left the bedroom key in the lock when I had last left it, because I soon heard a clicking sound, as if she had sealed it. Silence then reigned in the living room, the Crime Scene. All we – Edgeworth, Lana and me – could do now was to wait. It was an uncomfortable feeling, strangely reminiscent of the Channeling-related Murder Case I had had to deal with two years ago. Of course, I knew that nobody was going to die this time around. Between Maya, Iris and Ema, none of them would even think about harming each other. The worst that could happen would be that Ema could decide that for some insane reason it was necessary to dust the entire bedroom for fingerprints before they come out. Though, that would have probably been a good thing, if I think about it. Nothing would prove more clearly that Ema is, in fact, Ema.

Finally, I brought some sound into the silence.

"So… What do you think? Is Ema going to remember, this time around? About the Case, I mean."

"That entirely depends on how successful Iris is in her Channeling, I would assume," Edgeworth replied. Of course, he didn't have much more of a clue than me. I would have wondered why I had bothered asking, but I knew just too well why. I had just wanted to spark a conversation.

"I am still not certain that agreeing to bring her here was a good idea." Lana had her arms crossed. "Ema can be rash. I am sure she did not think through how she would feel about it…"

_(That is something the two of you have in common, I'd say_,) I thought to myself. _(This can't be the most comfortable place you could imagine yourself to be right now either.)_

Edgeworth seemed to be pondering about something, "…From my experiences with the Channeled, though, they have a tendency to not be too phased by mentions of their own fate. They have always seemed rather content regarding their own situation. Perhaps fear of death is a phenomenon unique to those alive…"

"Hm? That sounds like you've got some experience with those things, Edgeworth," I brought up. "Did you have the Feys channel Victims for you before?"

"Naturally, I try not to rely on unorthodox methods like this," was the disclaimer my old friend offered me immediately. He still seemed somewhat embarrassed about believing in something like 'Spirit Channeling'. "But yes, I have made use of their services before. Twice."

_(Twice… Could it be that at least one of those two Channelings was calling just who you'd think he'd want channeled…?)_

This was anything but farfetched. Given how well Kurain Channeling worked, anyone in Edgeworth's position would have likely taken this chance. The only thing that struck me as a bit odd regarding it, was the low number he had given. I didn't see why he wouldn't make use of the powers of the Feys much more, seeing how good his relationship to the clan was. Only when Edgeworth spoke on, I understood why that was.

"But no matter what tricks we may find to circumvent it, at least temporarily, we must never forget that death is inevitable. Life is nothing to be toyed with, and a person has no right to decide to take the life of another. Conversely, however, I also don't believe we have the right to attempt to change the finality of death. Whatever the true nature of the difference between the states of "Living" or "Dead" may be now, I believe there is a difference for a reason. Even if we can't quite comprehend that reason… yet."

"You think 'they' know?" I asked in interest. "Whatever it is that we can't understand, I mean."

"It would be an explanation for the behavior of the few Channeled I have seen." No matter how ashamed he seemed to be talking about this topic in all seriousness, there was still a lot of sincerity to what he said. "However, regardless, that doesn't change one fact: Life is a precious thing. Maybe the correct way of thinking of it would be to consider it… as 'one chance' in your existence. A chance to do things that are not possible otherwise."

"A chance that nobody has the right to take," I added myself. "And that you shouldn't just throw away, no matter what."

Edgeworth nodded, "Exactly. And once it has passed, one's place in this world, too, ceases to be."

I was looking over to Lana, when the thought his me that this might not be a conversation we should be leading next to her. And my feeling wasn't incorrect; she looked rather uncomfortable in her skin right now. I was about to stand up and say something, maybe apologize, but it turned out I didn't have to. When Edgeworth continued speaking, he was clearly addressing Lana.

"…But that doesn't mean the person the place belonged to ceases to be."

Lana listened up. She tried not to show that this had grabbed her attention, but she was shifting noticeably in her place.

And so, Edgeworth went on, "Clinging to something that was lost is useless, for it has passed by and searching to retrieve it in its entirety may very well just be a futile attempt. It keeps people from moving forward and finding new opportunities and different paths. We cannot walk backwards in life, but we may face new crossroads and choose our next steps freely. And maybe we will even be successful in finding something that is similar to the chance that once passed. And yet, it will not be entirely the same. This is why people have to be able to let go and accept change. We must never forget that."

Lana had lowered her head. I am not sure where she was looking, but maybe the correct description would be 'anywhere but at Edgeworth'.

"And even if I do move on, what good does it do _her_?" She finally spoke. "You said it yourself: Ema's 'chance' is gone. No matter how many times she is channeled, her life won't return. She… She…" By this point, Lana's voice had begun to shake. With every sentence she spoke, it trembled a bit more. And as her voice trembled, so did her body. "She… will never again return home from school in the afternoon, not exhausted, nor bragging of her achievements… She will never again stay up late to cram for an exam and then, even when I send her to sleep, secretly continue to read her books in bed… She will never again wake up at night because she didn't sleep well and then stomp into the kitchen and fill herself up with everything sweet she can find until she falls asleep on the table… S-She… She'll not grow older anymore…_She'll never be an adult… And she will… never become… a forensic investigator… as she had… wanted to…_"

This was the point where we had finally gone and done it. Lana Skye was actually crying. Just like she had cried in the Courtroom, earlier. If Ema was to come in right now and see her like this, odds were that she would get mad, search someone to blame for making her sister cry, and it was highly probable that this 'someone' was going to be me, because that's just how lucky I am. I knew I had better come up with something to calm her down and fast if I didn't want this entire meeting here to derail horribly, so I began to think of things I could possibly say. And after a couple of seconds, much to my own surprise, I actually figured something out. It was a bit risky, but definitely worth trying. Better than nothing, at least.

"Yes, it's true. Ema will never get to do any of those things," I started. "And… I'm sure that _bugs_ her a lot."

Lana raised her head when she heard this. She was looking straight at me, but it didn't exactly look like my words had made her feel better. It was more like she wasn't sure whether to be disturbed, horrified, or enraged by what I had just said. I continued quickly, before she could decide.

"So, yes, I'm sure, Ema is upset about what happened. She's probably going to vent about it later. She will probably be grumpy about it, too. But… Do you know what I think Ema really isn't good at? Hiding her emotions." I stood up from the chair I had sat down on and walked towards Lana, as I kept explaining. "Think about it. When Ema was channeled earlier today, did she seem especially sad or depressed? Was she hysterical about what had happened to her? Or even traumatized?"

It was now, I think, that Lana began to understand what I was trying to tell her. Intently, and with her mouth slightly opened, she listened to what I had to say, yet didn't reply. She just let me speak.

"Ms. Skye. Edgeworth is right. Ema understands what happened to her better than we do now. And I don't think she is unhappy. If anything, she seemed mostly worried about how you were taking it." As I was talking, I took out a tissue that I had in my pocket and offered it to Lana. She accepted it after a moment and began to wipe her face as I went on. "…She's not going to grieve for herself. And I don't think she wants you to either, at least not for too long. Also, she is never really going to be all that far away. She knew what happened during the Trial, remember? She could recount your Testimony, so she was watching you. All the time."

I knew that this wasn't going to magically take away Lana's pain. She was still going to mourn her genuinely horrible loss and was still going to have a hard time accepting the ways in which her life was going to change now. But I at least wanted to assure her that Ema, too, could move on and that her fate wouldn't mean eternal despair for the poor girl. I wanted to remind her that Ema had already made it very clear that she wanted Lana to also keep going. I knew that that was probably the reason why Edgeworth had addressed Lana with this heavy topic. Because he, too, believed that it was something she should be aware of. No wonder. He likely understood her pain… Much better than I did, in fact.

Whether it had been a good thing to address this topic right here and now, I couldn't tell. Lana wouldn't say anything else, and neither would we. I just stood there and watched as the young woman dried the tears off her face. She did it quickly, probably having realized the same thing I had realized early – that Ema was going to come through this door any moment and that it probably wouldn't exactly make her happy to see her like this when she did. Meanwhile, Edgeworth, too, remained silent. A few moments passed like this, until, just when Lana had folded the tissue and tucked it away in her chest pocket, the door to the bedroom gave off the sound of being unlocked. It opened.

"Sorry, for the wait!" The voice was Maya's and so was the face that peeked out. "We had some minor complications…

I swear, I saw Lana freeze in shock the moment the word "complications" came up. Thankfully, though, Maya kept on talking quickly.

"… but she wanted me to do up her hair so badly, I had to take the time to find a brush and undo the braids and all."

"Well, excuse me, but it was absolutely necessary! I can't have hair hang in my face when I get to work!"

And then, Ema stepped out of the room. Just like Maya had stated, Iris' braids were gone now. In their stead, Ema had her hair knotted up behind her head, very similarly to how Maya herself wore it. The remaining hair that would have fallen into her face she had parted unevenly and tugged behind her ears, except for a single bang left and a single bang right, which were now framing her face. In other words: Hadn't her hair been black, it'd have been very difficult to tell the difference to when Ema had actually still been alive.

"… What about the bangs?" This might not have been the most intelligent comment to make, but it was the first that came to mind when I heard Ema talk about the dangers of 'hair hanging in her face.'

As if on cue, she started playing with one of those very same bangs, puffing up her cheeks,

"What about them? They are reasonably and safely placed in an exact approximate distance to ensure maximal scientific safety, obviously!"

_(Nice to see you still have a "scientific" excuse… for everything.)_

"Oh, by the way. Hi, Phoenix!"

"Hello, Ema." _(She knows my name this time around…)_

I was probably smiling weirdly. The dissonance that struck now, with Ema stepping into our midst, no less vivid than she had ever been, when just minutes ago we had been talking about how to correctly cope with her death, was more than just a little bit strange. But I probably wasn't the person here who found this the strangest, I had to remember that.

"…Hey there, Sis! How's your day been?"

Ema was sounding like she had just come home from a fieldtrip. The strange dissonance got stranger.

Lana was smiling.

"…Ema," was all she said.

Whether her smile was genuine or forced, I'm really not sure. If it was forced, she hid it very well. But after the talk we had just had, I had a hard time believing it was entirely genuine. In any case, Ema headed over to her sister with quick, bouncy steps, before finally making a bit of a leap and hugging her. Lana seemed to have been somewhat prepared for this. She accepted the hug with literally open arms.

"Heh! It's nice to see you smile, Sis! I've missed that. I was starting to wonder if I'd ever see it again."

"…I'm sorry. For everything, Ema. If just…"

"No, no sorrys and no ifs!" Ema broke Lana off. She stepped back a bit to look down onto her –still seated – sister with strict eyes. "None of this was your fault, OK? And that other stuff… Let's just say you can get over a lot when 'something more important' comes up." There was a short pause then, before an all too familiar gleam appeared in Ema's eyes. She smiled, "Like… Finding out whose fault this all really is! Let's get investigating!"

"Scientifically?" Lana asked, most likely rhetorically.

"Scientifically!" Ema responded, definitely enthusiastically. And, as force of habit demanded, her hand wandered up to her forehead then… just to grab into empty air. She kept wiggling it around there for a few moments, until the realization that there was nothing there to get between her fingers, except for hair, set in. Ema looked just a bit disappointed.

"…You know, I feel naked," she stated with a sigh. Lana, however, had her smile grow just the slightest bit bigger.

"Well, then we should try to change that, right?"

Nobody knew what she meant by this, until Lana reached under the chair she was sitting on, pulling out her handbag. From it she brought forth two items. One of it seemed rather large, soft and white…

Ema's eyes grew in excitement, "My coat! My glasses! Lana, how did you…?"

"You had spares." Lana was actually laughing. "I knew where you were keeping them and so I thought you would like to wear them."

"You bet I do! Thank you. You're the best!"

Just one more quick hug, and then Ema had eagerly clad herself in her usual garb before I could even do so much as bat an eyelash. Confidently, she tugged her glasses.

"OK, _now_ I am completely here!" the gleam in her eyes was so strong now, it almost made me wonder if she could see in the dark with them. "Let's go!"

I saw that as my cue, so I stepped up to Ema, "Alright then, where do we start?"

Ema was still grinning, "I don't know! Where would you like to start?"

Which left us at point zero. What was I supposed to answer?

"Well…" Apparently, this was all I could come up with.

Edgeworth was the next to speak, "This place has already been investigated thoroughly. It will be hard to find spots the police could have missed. "

"When in doubt, just check everything!" Maya suggested. "Starting with the most suspicious place!"

"Well, the most suspicious place is definitely the spot where Ema was killed, so-" I didn't get to finish the sentence, because Ema had already rushed past me. Before anybody could do anything about it, she was standing by the white outlines the police had drawn with tape next to the wall.

"Aha! So this is the spot!"

"E-Ema!" Lana clearly had an objection to what her sister was doing. I don't believe that objection became less prevalent when Ema actually kneeled down and investigated the floor in detail. I walked over to her and bent down.

"Is this were you found me?" She peeked at me over the edge of her glasses. "Where we talked, I mean."

I nodded, "Yeah… But when I found you, you weren't lying there like this outline yet…"

"Right… The way the blood is spread, it looks more like I was sitting against the wall… correct?"

I was still amazed by how lightly she dealt with all of that. Her eyes were still shining with her usual passion for forensics.

"You still don't remember?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Not yet… not quite," her gaze was focused on the white outline. "But… bits and pieces are coming back, I think… Let's try psychology!"

"Psychology…?" I asked, not quite understanding where she was going with this _(Well, that's a new one.)_

"Yes, psychology! It's a science too, after all!" She nodded proudly. "Alright, here I go!"

And then, before I could try to stop her, Ema had lied down on the floor, just within the white outline. She rolled to the side.

"I was… lying here like this, right?"

"R-Right…" I shuddered a bit.

_(This is so unsettling to look at…)_

"Good!" Ema closed her eyes, "Hmm… I'm trying to remember, but…Nope, nothing yet…"

"You have to take into account that the body only fell over after you died," Edgeworth noted very factually. "Therefore, there shouldn't be any memories associated to this position that you could trigger like this."

"Oh… right! Let me correct that then!"

And with that, Ema quickly sat up and leaned against the wall. She turned her head to me.

"Hey, Phoenix? Could I get a little help here, please?"

"Help?" I asked. "With what?"

"Correcting my position, of course! You were the last one who saw me, after all!"

"Y-Your position?!" I gulped a bit. This wasn't exactly something I wanted to remember, but… too late. The image that had burned itself into my mind two days ago already was coming back to me now in full detail. Only now, Ema seemed to realize that her request might have been just a bit blunt.

"You… You don't have to if you don't want to!" she stuttered. I could only find it ironic that it was _me_ who was freaking out at the thought of replicating her dying position, and not her.

"N-No, it's alright. OK, let's see…"

I sat down beside her and hesitantly began to help Ema taking the exact posture I remembered her in. It wasn't hard to do, because of how clear my image of it still was.

"…Your arms were just besides your body… and the right leg was angled off, like this…"

"What about my head? Was it against the wall?"

"No, it was lowered… like this. But when we talked, you looked up…"

I didn't look at anyone else other than Ema when I helped her with her little "experiment", so I don't know how the others reacted to it, but I hope Lana wasn't watching actively. She didn't need to know what Ema looked like in her last moments.

"Hm…" Ema was now seated, exactly the same way I had found her when I had opened the door on the afternoon of May 1st. The difference being that there was no gaping hole in her chest this time around. With closed eyes, she tried to recall the events of that afternoon. I was still kneeling next to her. Just a few moments later, she began to slowly raise her head and open her eyes a bit. She looked at me.

"I think… I remember now… It's hazy, but…"

She paused. Her confident smile from earlier had disappeared now. Instead she seemed a bit… spacey.

"Right… I was sitting right here… They toppled over the couch… My head hurt so much…"

"Who are 'they'?" I asked.

"I don't know…" Ema replied. "I couldn't see well… The light hurt in my eyes… But… there were voices…" She paused a bit again. I could see how Ema's expression grew a bit disturbed, "… Someone screamed…"

"… They screamed?"

"First, there was a shriek… Then a… a horrible pain…like something was… ripping into me.. I-It burned so horribly much… And then, there was a scream… I-It wasn't my own… I couldn't scream… because I couldn't breathe well… It… It hurt too much…"

"D-don't go on!" I quickly threw in when I realized that Ema's voice continued to grow more and more pained. "I-It's enough, really!"

Ema, however, didn't stop.

"… The bathroom…"

"What?"

"They… ran to the bathroom," she looked at me. "Everything went black…And then… I saw your silhouette."

After that, Ema finally finished talking. We just looked at each other for a bit, before she finally said, "That's all I remember."

"…Thank you, Ema," was all I could bring myself to say. I didn't know what else would have been appropriate in this situation. And, to be honest, I was just glad when I saw how Ema got up from the ground again, brushing off her coat and stepping away from the white outline. She was shaking a bit. Lana immediately came over to her to aid her in some way, even though there wasn't much to do. Still, she took her sister's hand,

"E-Ema…"

"I'm fine, Sis," Ema smiled, notably less enthusiastic than usually. "I'm just a bit... dizzy…Yeah."

"You didn't need to do that, Ema," I told her. "I mean, after everything, you-"

"No, I had to!" she interrupted me, and suddenly, all her energy seemed to have returned. "I'm the only Eyewitness you've got! Scientifically speaking, a good investigation is only possible if you gather all the information you can get and make logical deductions with it!"

And then she tugged her glasses proudly, as if she had just said the smartest thing in the world.

"… Which is why I took notes regarding what you just 'testified'," Edgeworth, wearing a confident smile, stepped up to us. There was a small organizer resting in his hands. He flipped its pages. "If you don't mind, Ema? We now know the following: The Crime Scene was manipulated after Ema was struck, but, before she died, there were two screams at the Crime Scene, one subdued and one louder and finally, someone entered the bathroom after Ema was stabbed."

"…To get rid of the gloves," I guessed. "They were found there, after all."

Edgeworth nodded, "That's what I think too, yes. What is still unclear, though, is how they entered the apartment…"

"Well, when I arrived, I didn't notice anybody until they whacked me, so they must have been hiding inside, right?" Ema thought out loud. "They were probably waiting for a while… Just for the moment when they could sneak up on me!"

"That just raises another question, though: How did they know I wasn't going to be at home at the time? My meeting with Edgeworth that day wasn't planned," I said.

"And neither was you losing consciousness while eating noodle soup," Edgeworth added, driving a blush of shame into my face.

Maya seemed to take glee in this, "What, Nick, you actually passed out from eating too much? You are such a lightweight!"

"N-No, no, that's not what happened, listen…"

Of course, they wouldn't let me finish, so Ema interrupted,

"Oh, so that's why you were running late? Well, thank you very much!" She seemed very displeased. "While you were busy curing your tummy-ache, I spent an eternity boring myself on your couch!"

_(Well, if that's the least of your worries…)_

Lana was the next to speak.

"Usually, I would also be reprimanding Mr. Wright for this uncoordinated schedule," she stated. "But there is the matter of his loss of memory. He might simply not have had any recollection of the meeting you agreed on…"

"No way he forgot!" Ema argued, "He knew very well we were gonna meet! I texted him, after all!"

Edgeworth turned to me, "Yes, I recall. Wright did mention receiving a message like this."

"Yeah, we had a text exchange with each other that morning. My last talk with Ema before the Murder happened." _(And technically, the only…)_

A sudden thought came to me, and I found myself feeling that it was weird Lana could even consider I might not have known about the meeting or the time it was supposed to happen, but I couldn't exactly tell why it was 'weird'.

_(…Lana should have known. I can't really remember why, but there was something, something that makes me think she should have. Hm…)_

"So… You knew about the meeting, Mr. Wright?" Lana asked me. "In spite of your condition?"

I nodded, "Only because of Ema's message, but, yes, I did. And hadn't I had a… problem… I'd have come on time too. Also, that reminds me…"

I turned my head, so I would face someone else in the room.

"Ema, do you remember now what we actually tried to meet for? Your text mentioned Evidence."

And, immediately, a bright smile was drawn on her face, "Yep! A bunch of high-quality Evidence, freshly found out by and through the amazing power of science! … Except…"

"… Except?" I repeated, not liking the tone in her voice at all.

She finished, looking a bit less enthusiastic.

"… Except I can't seem to remember _what_ exactly the Evidence was… sorry," Ema apologized and sighed. "I mean, it's kinda… there, but… I just can't find the words! If I could get a hint or something, I'm sure I'd be able to tell you, but…"

"Giving you a hint would be easier if I actually knew what we were investigating into," I said. "So, if you could tell us a bit about that...?"

Ema's answer came way too quickly, "I don't know!"

"Ehm..." I was taken aback by how convinced of herself she seemed when she replied. "So, you don't remember that either?"

"No, I just don't know. I never did," Ema explained. "It's true, I helped you with some investigations, by analyzing pieces of Evidence and certain places for you… But I never knew what exactly those investigations were about!"

"I… didn't tell you…?"

"Nope!" Ema shook her head. "No matter how many times I asked, you'd always just say, 'It's not important' or, 'Don't worry about it, just do your thing.' or stuff like that!"

"So even though Nick had teamed up with you, you had no clue what you actually had teamed up for?" Maya asked. "That's strange…"

"Especially given that Wright has an entire team of highly qualified forensic experts at his disposal," Edgeworth added, his eyes closed, as if he was thinking through the possibilities. "Why would he have refrained from making the investigations official, while also keeping Ema in the dark? There is only one possible explanation for this…"

I turned to him.

"It means that, whatever case he… I mean, I was investigating into… was a secret. To everyone, but me."

"Precisely that."

"That makes sense!" Maya seemed to have a minor revelation, judging by the tone in her voice. "Nick _has _been pretty secretive lately! No wonder, if he was working on a super-special, top-secret Case!"

"And I guess that makes me the super-special, top-secret, scientific investigation unit!" Ema joined in on Maya's gushing. "Wow, I feel awesome now!"

"Uhm… And you, Ms. Skye?" I turned to Lana. "Any 'super-special, top-secret thoughts' on this…?"

Given I was the person least informed about 'my' behavior lately, it couldn't hurt to ask everyone else for their opinions.

Lana lowered her head for just a few seconds before she gave her two cents, "It does make a certain amount of sense… No, rather it makes perfect sense. It would explain a lot. What the girls say is true, Mr. Wright has kept to himself a lot recently. His investigations having been a secret also perfectly matches up with what he had told me when we decided on meeting that day…"

"What did I 'tell you'?" I asked.

"Well…" And then Lana closed her eyes, in order to think about and recall what the 'other Phoenix' had told her. "…_There is an explanation. For everything, I swear. Everything I've been doing the past two years will soon make sense. But if I told you here, something that can't be undone might happen. We need to meet tomorrow, at my apartment. Don't use your car. Don't tell anyone, no matter whom. Please, trust me."_

And then, Lana opened her eyes.

"That's all you said to me."

"That's a lot like what Phoenix told me…" Ema said. "I think I remember now… '_I am so sorry for getting you involved in this, but I am going to make up for it. We can finish this, I know we are close. If we finish it all tomorrow… then I know I won't have to be afraid of what could happen next anymore… ' _That's what you told me the day before it happened, you know."

"Afraid of what could happen next…?" I asked. "What could that mean?"

"I have no clue, but it must have been something horrible," she replied. "You didn't look good at all when you told me. Actually, you almost didn't tell me at all. You only brought yourself to, when… uhm…"

"Ema?" Her sudden, suspicious pause only made me more curious. I looked at her. "When what?"

"…Well, I kind of… smacked you," Ema finally admitted.

"… Excuse me…?" I wasn't really sure what to make of that. "You… smacked me…?"

"Yep! Left a pretty nasty bruise too!" she nodded.

I felt my hand wander up to my cheek.

_(Bruise… Wait. So that bruise I had when I woke up here… Ema caused it?)_

"I am sorry for it, really!" Ema apologized. "But… I was just so angry at you that day. After everything we had done together, I thought I knew you well enough, but then you… You just…"

Ema paused a bit before she went on. Her eyes were no longer on me, but at the floor, "You… just blamed that attempted Murder on Lana's only remaining friend. The only one she hadn't scared away yet! I couldn't forgive that!"

_(…The Fey Trial!)_

So much else had happened, I had totally forgotten about it. But now, everything came back to me. The reason Maya had been angry at 'me' when we first met, and everything Edgeworth had told me the afternoon when we had noodles together… The reason I collapsed. And the reason why Mia and Dahlia were in jail and not here, with us.

"Phoenix… I still don't understand it, you know…" Ema was still not looking at me. "They were innocent. Ms. Fey and that girl were innocent and you knew it. So why? Why did you do that to them…?"

"Nick…" Maya was standing next to me. I heard her whisper into my ear. "Maybe you should tell Ema about you? About who you really are, you know?"

"I don't think she'd believe me," I whispered back. "It'd just sound like a stupid excuse…"

But, of course, Maya was right. I couldn't give Ema the answer to her question, since I wasn't really the one it was addressed to. So, what was I going to say now? What could I say?

"Phoenix…" Ema spoke on. "I know you're not a bad person… A-And I also know you can't really remember a thing right now, but still… Why? I… just want to know why…"

What followed was a short pause. Until, finally, I had found words. I didn't exactly know what words they were going to be yet… But I'd let them come.

"… It's going to make sense," I heard myself say.

Ema looked up, at me. And I went on.

"We are going to finish this and then, I swear… There'll be an explanation for everything. I just know it." I took a short break then. "And I'll make sure there'll be no more wrong verdicts from here on. I promise. And once everything is said and done…"

"We're going to get Sis and Dahlia back out of jail too!" Maya threw in with a big smile. "Right?"

I nodded, "Right."

"Phoenix…" Ema looked at both Maya and me for a short while. Then, almost too suddenly, she put on what was probably the most determined face she could muster, "Right! And I'll help! Like before, so now! If whoever's the real bad guy here thought they could take me out for good with that assassination thing, they thought wrong!"

Edgeworth, meanwhile, had taken a pondering pose again. "I just wonder… Was taking Ema 'out' really the actual goal of the assassination?"

"Edgeworth?" I turned to look at him once more. "What do you mean? What else could they have done it for?"

"Think about what Ms. Skye told us about your last exchange with her before you lost your memory," he began to explain. "_Everything I've been doing the past two years will soon make sense. But if I told you here, something that can't be undone might happen…"_

And then, finally, I understood.

"'_Something that can't be undone'_…!"

Ema backed off a bit, "You mean… the murder of me…?"

"So… you _knew_ it could have happened?!" Lana had jumped up from her chair quicker than should have been humanly possible. "You knew… that… someone might have her… killed if you…!"

"M-Ms. Skye…"

There was this frightening mixture of shock, disbelief and anger in Lana's eyes now and they were drilling right into me. It wasn't hard to tell what she was feeling that moment… It was easy to see that right now she felt at least a bit of hatred. And that hatred was directed at me.

"Sis! Calm down, it's not Phoenix's fault!" Ema went in-between us, which was probably a good thing, given that Lana looked like she might leap at me any moment. "He didn't think it would happen if we met! That's what he said, remember?"

Reluctantly, Lana sat down again, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. The moment her gaze stopped piercing into my mind, I felt relief.

"But why _did _it happen?" was what Maya asked now. "Where did Nick go wrong, and why did he know someone might try to kill Ema in first place?"

"And, first and foremost: Was Ema's death truly connected to the 'fear' Wright spoke of to the Skye sisters? Those are the questions we have to find the answers to now," Edgeworth stated.

Yes, finding answers was what was important now. So why was it that all we did was ask more and more questions? Weren't we ever going to get anywhere? My head wouldn't stop spinning. There was one thing we knew for sure: The Case the 'other Phoenix' had been investigating into was connected to this. Without any doubt. Now, if only we could find out where exactly this connection was… But how to do this? Something told me it wasn't going to be easy in the least. But I had to give it a try.

"Ema," I addressed the Channeled girl again. "Isn't there anything you can tell us about those investigations you were working on? Nothing at all?"

"Well, uhm…" Ema pressed her lips together and closed her eyes tightly, trying to think. "… Ah! I got it! That could work!"

"What? Did you remember something?" I asked.

"Not exactly 'remember'," Ema said, "But I might know how we can figure out what case you were working on, Phoenix! With science!"

My enthusiasm was somewhat limited. A 'scientific method' to tell what their investigations had been about? What was I supposed to think about that?

"…What were you thinking of?" I finally replied, having decided to just let myself be surprised.

Ema tugged her glasses, her eyes shining like she had just been waiting for this question.

"_PCR_."

"PC…R?" Maya asked. "What does that stand for?"

It was Lana who explained the term to me, "The _Polymerases Chain Reaction_. It is a method of DNA replication used in forensics in combination with a technique known as _Gel Electrophoresis_. "

"So, the PCR replicates DNA? Well, what does this Gel… ehm… 'Electropherasis' do then?" I asked.

"_Gel Electrophoresis_, Phoenix!" Ema corrected me. "It's a method to analyze and compare DNA! It's used to filter out suspects in cases where genetic material is among the evidence and almost as precise as fingerprint analysis."

"It is extremely unlikely that several people share the exact same genetic pattern," Lana explained. "The possibility of an incorrect analysis is thus very low."

Ema then went on to explain, "The best thing is: Everyone can do it, if you just know how to! You don't need any complex machines or programs, aside from a centrifuge. The tools and chemicals needed are easily available to the public, if you can afford them. I can't believe you forgot about that too, when I spent so much time explaining it to you the first time around!"

"The first time around?" I asked. "You mean, this was one of the things I had you do?"

"Yes! One of the first few, actually!" Ema nodded. "About three years ago, I think… You had me _PCR _and perform a Gel Electrophoresis on some blood samples back then. I never found out what you needed the results for, of course."

"That is all interesting and good," Edgeworth commented. "But how is it that you believe this is going to tell us anymore about the nature of Wright's private investigations?"

"Because this was the other thing we were gonna do at his apartment that day! Well, at least I think we were going to. Doing a DNA analysis on some evidence he had gathered had been on our schedule for ages already, we just hadn't found the time to actually do it, because of everything that had happened."

"DNA analysis, huh?" Maya thought out loud. "If you think that Nick was going to have you do it here, that means the Evidence needed for it would have to be here too?"

"Yeah, exactly," Ema nodded.

Maya went on, "And… if we analyze that Evidence and figure out whose DNA is on it, then…"

"We would know at least one person who stands in direct connection to whatever case the Evidence belongs," Edgeworth finished her train of thought.

"And if we knew that, we'd also have a much easier time finding out what kind of case the Evidence belongs to!" I realized. My mood immediately skyrocketed. _Finally_ some kind of lead. "Ema, that's a genius idea!"

The girl grinned proudly at my praise, "Well, I didn't have a GPA of 3.3 for nothing, you know!"

"Let's search the place for the Evidence then!" Maya's eager voice almost made the walls shake. "It's got to be _somewhere_ around here! I'll check the bedroom."

"I'll keep examining the Crime Scene with Phoenix!" Ema volunteered, sorting me, too, without even asking.

"Which leaves the kitchen and bathroom for Ms. Skye and me," Edgeworth concluded. "I will take a look at the bathroom, then. Ms. Skye, if you would be so kind as to look around the kitchen for a while?"

"That is fine with me."

That said, everyone went to their designated posts and started to search for whatever 'mystery evidence' my other self might have been hiding in this place. Our investigations really only begun now and no nook or cranny was safe of them. Drawers were emptied, cupboards opened and crammed in, the chaos of 'my' apartment was worsened or gotten rid of in different places, depending on what the search demanded.

"This would be a lot easier if we knew what we were actually searching for," I finally stated after putting a stack of DVDs back into their shelf.

"Just see the good in it, Phoenix! One can never take enough close looks at their Premium Copy of 'The Steel Samurai Returns' or their Platinum Edition of 'The Nickel Samurai Rises'!"

I took a quick glance back at the stack in the shelf, just to realize that the two DVDs Ema had mentioned really were on top of it. Something told me that Maya had taken effect on more than just the other 'me's' _music_ collection…

"…In any case, I doubt there's much of any DNA to analyze on those disks. Let's move on."

"How about it if I spray some Luminol?" Ema had put her glasses on and looked eager to put them to use. "If the evidence was bloody, we might be able to trace it down that way!"

"The way blood was spread all around this place, I doubt this is gonna end up in more than us running in circles around the room for a few minutes," I hand-waved the idea away.

Of course Ema took my doubt into the force of science rather personally, "As if we were doing anything else as it is! We've been here for an hour and still not done a single bit of professional investigating! I'm not going to stay Channeled forever, you know? What a disappointment…"

"I-I'm sorry!" Who was I to take away Ema's fun, especially given what situation she was in? As soon as this realization hit, I tried to amend all that I had said, "You're right, we _should_ spray Luminol! In fact, let's dust for fingerprints too! And how about we re-examine some pieces of Evidence? Everything you want!"

Ema's reaction to my sudden change in mood was more confused than anything else. She stared at me for a bit,

"…Phoenix, are you making fun of me?"

"W-What? No, no!"

In reply to this, Ema puffed her cheeks a bit.

"Well, then don't say irrelevant things like this! How is re-examining Evidence going to help now? Seriously!"

_(Note to self: Never try to cheer anyone up again in my life,) _I thought to myself, sighing.

"Science is no matter to joke about!" she scolded me. "Next time you do, I'll have to throw something! …I just don't know what yet. It'd have to be small and light, though… I wouldn't want to actually hurt you."

_(Also: Make sure Ema never finds any kind of fitting ammunition to realize this threat.)_

"… I'm sorry. "

Ema's apology came too suddenly. By the time I wanted to ask her what she was apologizing for, she had already gone on.

"It's just… This could be my final chance to do forensic investigations. I just… want to make the best of it…"

Ema's eyes were only half-opened. A deep sigh escaped her lips when she had finished talking. I didn't know what to say.

"…Ema…"

"…You know that saying _'You don't know what you have until it's gone'_? Well, I don't think that's true! At least not for me…

Ema was looking almost as down as earlier, when she had remembered her own death, right now. And just like earlier, she wouldn't stop talking, despite it. She kept going.

"I knew exactly what I had, all along. And I always was happy and I always enjoyed it. But I miss the things I didn't have! … If that makes any sense?"

"The things you can't have any more now. Like… your dreams for the future," I said.

"Yeah… Or hoping for Lana to return to the way she used to be, so she and I could be a family again…" Ema sat down on one of the empty chairs in the room and stared at the floor. "It's… just not fair! Just when I was so close to getting Lana back, I have to leave! How can that be the way things are supposed to be? It annoys me! …And I will never know how well I'd have done at that exam…"

"...You'd have been great," I tried to convince her. "You would have aced it, I'm sure."

"But Phoenix… Nothing's 'sure'. That's the thing." Ema surprised me with this response. "We can't tell what is going to happen or how things are going to turn out. We will never be able to know the future. If we could…" She paused a bit and lowered her head. "… I would be in my own body right now, if we could."

"Ema… I'm sorry things turned out the way they did," I told her. "If I had acted a bit differently that day…"

She looked up, "What then? Maybe we would have both ended up dead then. We can't tell. But… I guess it's alright. I can still be with Lana, you know, even if she can't see me. And even if I can't ever be a forensic investigator now… I'll always remember what a fun dream it was! That will always stay with me and I am thankful for that! But everything else was never really 'certain' in the first place." A meaningful smile then appeared on Ema's face. "That's why it's important to know when to let go… right?"

And when Ema said this, it was as if a switch had been turned in my mind. I understood.

"… You were listening earlier." I said. "When Edgeworth and I were talking to your sister."

Ema kept smiling, "Just a bit. I was waiting here for Iris to Channel me, so …I couldn't resist to 'listen' in a bit."

"And? What did you think?"

"Hmm, well… Mr. Edgeworth sure knows how to say stuff eloquently!" Ema decided. "I'd not have known how to use half the words the way he did."

_(Either she didn't listen long enough to witness my attempt to calm down Lana or it just didn't leave much of an impression on her…)_

"I didn't hear much of what you said. I'm sorry. But, still… thank you, so much," Ema expressed her gratitude with a slight tilt of her head. "You and Mr. Edgeworth trying to help my Sis to get over it… That's the best thing you could do for me. I mean it."

And Ema was still smiling. Somehow, it felt really good, to see her smile like this. It also helped that I could really feel the smile was genuine. Maybe because this was just the reassurance that I had needed. The proof I hadn't told Lana a 'lie' – whether unintentionally or otherwise. Ema wasn't in despair. That's all that mattered. It was the most we could have hoped for.

As heartfelt as this exchange was, though, we were probably only wasting even more time with it. So, in retrospect, it was probably actually a sort of 'good thing' when Ema and me were interrupted very suddenly by something.

The sound of someone screaming.

"_**Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!"**_

Ema jumped up from her seat before I did.

"W-What was that?!"

I turned to the source of the scream.

"It came from the bedroom…" _(M-Maya!)_

Ema was saying something among the lines of "Let's go!" now, but I wasn't even paying attention anymore. I had already dashed off towards the door and turned the knob. And I wasn't alone. Ema, Lana and Edgeworth all had come run the moment they had heard the scream. When I threw open the door, we were already all gathered in front of it.

"_MAYA_!" I yelled into the room, as soon as the door was out of the way. Not that I really needed to be that loud in order for her to hear me. We found her sitting on the floor just in front of the bed, shaking like she had just seen… a ghost? No, given it was Maya, a ghost wouldn't even have fazed her. It had to have been something else. But what could have shocked Maya like this? The answer to that question was found the moment we took our eyes off Maya… and saw what was on top of the bed. Or rather _'who' _was on top of the bed.

"T-The _Under-bed Ninja_…!" Maya uttered with a certain sense of awe in her voice, her arm stretched out like a log and her finger pointing straight at the figure before her. "She has come… to us…!"

Said figure was teenager-shaped, a bit taller than Maya, female, black-haired and clad in an interesting combination of pink, black, white and gold… wait.

_(Isn't that…?!)_

"The Under-bed Ninja!" Maya repeated. "She exists, Nick! I always knew it! There are Under-bed Ninja!"

"That's '_Great Thief'_ to you, thank you very much!" The presumably-previously-under-bed-but-now-on-bed figure proclaimed, before jumping off said bed… And heading straight for the window. Of course I knew she wasn't just going there in order to let some fresh air into the room.

"**HOLD IT! **You can't just-"

The last thing I saw of the mysterious girl, however… was a wide grin, as she already had one leg hanging out of the window.

"_Now you see me, now you don't. Good night, everybody, until the next full moon! See ya~!"_

Then she pulled a little something from her pocket, tossed it right to my feet, waved at us once and… leapt through the window.

And thus, my second 'Strange Encounter of the Pink Kind' ended. What remained were my friends, me and our dumbstruck faces.

"Ehm… Well… That was…surely…"

"… the last time I open the window after a Channeling?" Maya suggested.

"Or just plain 'Weird'?" Ema gave her own two cents, but it still didn't quite hit the spot.

"… Let's just say, a lot of things about it didn't make a whole lot of sense."

"Like how it's not even night right now?" Maya suggested. "Or how she called herself a 'thief' when she's so obviously a Ninja? And what was up with that exit! And also…"

"It's not full moon… Not even close…" Ema interrupted Maya. "That's not… scientific…"

"I think being 'scientific' was the least of this person's concerns," was Edgeworth's comment, his arms crossed. "Their self-description as a 'thief' though…"

"I don't think anything was stolen," Maya stated. "I mean, did you see her pouch? It was tiny! No way she could have fit anything important in there!"

"Bigger isn't always better, Maya," I told her, feeling a bit nervous. "If she took any of my papers, it could easily mean trouble."

Surprisingly, my words cast a worried expression on Edgeworth's face for some reason.

"File Theft… Could it be…?"

"Edgeworth…?"

He didn't say anything more. Instead, Edgeworth walked over to me, bent down before my feet and picked up something. It was the object the mysterious girl had thrown at me.

"A Card!" Ema exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that! Cards would make _perfect_ throwing material!"

"You're still on that…?"

Edgeworth didn't let our little bit of banter disturb his investigations. Carefully, he first took a close look at the backside of the card… then he turned it over. And that was the moment, where shock was suddenly taking ahold of his entire expression, complete with his pupils shrinking down to even less their usual size and him actually almost leaping back a step,

"UNGHHHH!"

"Mr. Edgeworth?" Lana stepped towards him. "Is something the matter with this card?"

I decided to voice a thought that had been somewhere on my mind for a while,

"Don't tell me… It's the same as the one that was in my office?"

"Ah! The Copycat Yatagarasu!" Maya shouted out when she realized what I was trying to say. "Of course! The Under-Bed Ninja and the Copycat Yatagarasu are the same person!"

However, Edgeworth was about to pretty much crush our deductions.

"T-That was what I had assumed myself, when the girl left the card… H-However…" Finally, Edgeworth, managed to compose himself somewhat. "… It seems I was mistaken."

"Mistaken? What do you mean?" I asked. "Edgeworth, what's on that card?"

He was still hesitant, but, after letting his eyes wander once across the room, then closing them, Edgeworth finally told me.

"… This Card is, in fact, not a Calling Card, like I had assumed… But a Business Card."

"A Business Card?" I asked, and Ema curiously joined in.

"And? What kind of dirty business is advertised?"

Edgeworth's response only came after about three seconds of reluctance.

"… My father's old law offices."

"**What**?!"

This chorus of "_What_" was brought to you by Maya, Ema, Lana and Yours Truly. Probably because we all had similar thoughts in mind when we heard this. The fact that we all simultaneously broke out into this exclamation was at least proof enough for me that I didn't just hear it wrong. Shocked, I grabbed for the card in Edgeworth's hand and took a look of my own. There it was, black on white, Edgeworth's name. With his father's first name as an honorary mention of sorts. The name of the current office chief was that of an entirely different lawyer, that I didn't directly recognize, yet it vaguely rang a bell…

"I no longer work at those offices, as you are probably aware," Edgeworth explained. "Nowadays, they are being led by my father's first protégé, Raymond Shields. An old colleague of mine… and my friend."

"So… what are young girls in giant, black scarves doing breaking into houses and throwing your friend's Business Cards at innocent lawyers…?" I questioned, only to have Edgeworth, who apparently wasn't all that composed after all, snap at me.

"That is what I want to know!"

"Obviously, Miles' friend has recently become the great Upper-Sensei of all Under-Bed Ninja!" a certain person gleefully suggested. "Soon they shall control the spaces under beds all across the world!"

"Save that for your next movie script, Maya," was my response.

And her answer was cheek-puffing.

"You are just jealous that there aren't any Ninja throwing _your_ Business Cards at people!"

I contemplated the thought of how effective of an advertising Ninja throwing my Card at potential clients might be for just a few seconds, before I quickly abandoned it and wondered what in the world I had been thinking. Still… the Lawyer with the personal Ninja Squad… That had a ring to it, right? Right? … Maybe in a few years.

"Mr. Edgeworth..." Lana attempted to restore some semblance of sanity to the conversation. "If the card belongs to an acquaintance of yours, could it be that the girl we saw, too…"

"No," Edgeworth replied, almost too quickly. "I can't remember ever meeting a person like that before."

"Well, then I guess there's only one way to scientifically solve this problem: We need to go ask Mr. Edgeworth's friend!"

'_Go, ask Edgeworth's friend'_… Somehow, Ema's words rung familiar for me. I soon realized why.

"Raymond Shields, Edgeworth's former colleague… Wait! He wasn't the one involved with the Gramarye Trial at the end of last month, was he?"

My eyes kept darting back and forth between Maya and Edgeworth until I got an answer from the latter.

"Yes, he was. He was appointed as the Defense for that trial. At the last second, but still… Why do you ask?"

_(… Finally!)_

That was the best possible scenario I could have wished for. A good excuse to go and get more information about that one Trial my memory apparently kept blocking out of my mind… and maybe even to take down even more of those mysterious, white Psyche Locks. This was my chance.

"… Well, it's decided then. I am going to pay Mr. Shields a visit later."

Under Edgeworth's questioning, maybe even somewhat skeptical eyes, I tucked the Business Card away into my pocket, closing the matter of the 'Under-Bed Ninja' – I can't believe Maya got me to think this – for now. I looked back up, at the other people in our small group.

"Next thing to do: Make sure that our 'Great Thief' didn't take anything important."

Ema joyfully saluted, "Yessir! Let's investigate the room thoroughly!"

"And we'll start in the most suspicious spot: Under the bed!"

And before I could even object, Maya had already slid under the comparably large one-person bed like a lizard hiding under a stone. The first thing we learned was that the 'other' me apparently didn't care much for vacuum cleaning under the bed.

"_H-Ha… HACHOO!"_

Maya's sneezing testified that much.

While Maya dug her way through the dust clouds of the fantastic 'Realm of beneath the Bed', Lana turned her attention to the desk in the room, as Edgeworth examined the window closer. Ema, meanwhile, had become preoccupied with the mirror.

"… Black really isn't my color," she stated, skeptically eyeing her reflection in the mirror. "Could you get me a medium with brown hair the next time around, pretty please?"

'_A Medium with brown hair'_… I could think of only one person, but she obviously wasn't available here. I tried not to keep my mind on that matter for too long, though. I walked over to Lana.

"The desk seems unassuming," she stated. "And surprisingly orderly. I am positively surprised, Mr. Wright."

Lana was right; my usual disarray of Court Record contents was completely missing from the desk.

_(I deduce from that, that 'I' probably don't use this desk a lot… But I probably shouldn't say that out loud.) _

In an attempt to somehow be useful in the investigations, I then tried to open the desk drawer and look inside, but no matter how many times I yanked, it wouldn't come out.

"Hm… It's locked."

"We'll probably need a key to open it," Lana nodded.

Of course, neither of us had a key, so this part of the investigation came to a sudden stop here.

The next comment came from Edgeworth, who had fumbled around with the opened window for a bit after looking out of it.

"The windowsills are fairly broad and allows for comparably safe climbing if you are more on the athletic side… However, the windows are also secured in a way that should make opening them from the outside without damaging them an impossibility…"

"Any sign of that girl?" I asked him, but he shook his head.

"She must have entered one of the hallway windows in order to escape. It's impossible she climbed down all the way in such a short time span. And a jump she wouldn't have survived."

"So she could only get in because I had opened the window in first place?" The voice was Maya, who had just crawled back forth from under the bed, her clothing now covered in a fine layer of grey dust and some cobwebs hanging in her hair. She tried to get the dirt off herself as she went on talking, "And what would she have done if I hadn't opened it? Not very foreseeing for a Ninja."

"The only one here insisting that she was a Ninja is you," I told her. "Also, under the bed…"

"Nothing," Maya told me. "Way too dirty for putting anything important there too! Not even Nick would hide his Evidence in a spot like that, trust me!"

"Well, that leaves the drawers," I thought out aloud. "But we don't have a key for those…"

Just then, Ema's voice went across the room,

"Aha!"

Everyone turned to see what Ema was doing then, and we found her with both hands on the rather large mirror, one on the right side of the frame, one on the left.

"What is it, Ema?" Lana asked.

"I think… this has been moved!" she said, while yanking the sides of the mirror a bit.

"Moved? You mean by that girl?"

"Maybe… Ungh… A little help here, please?!"

Without waiting any longer, Edgeworth and me hurried to Ema's sides, me right, him left, aiding her in removing the huge, heavy mirror from the walls. It took us a few minutes, but finally, we did it. What we found there certainly explained why that self-proclaimed 'thief' would have wanted to move it: Just behind where the mirror had been on the wall just a few moments ago, there was a huge, door-like construct made of metal with a number-pad on it: A safe. Or rather, two safes, because it was split in half in the middle, making what would have been one door two doors. The number-pad was between them, looking used, but just a bit dusty. One could be rather sure that nobody had touched it in at very least the last few hours.

"Is that what that girl was here for?" Maya wondered out aloud.

"It resembles the safes I have seen in the Prosecutor's Office in the past," Edgeworth remarked after eyeing the metal doors for a few seconds. "Perhaps our little 'thief' was hoping to find something of that kind here, since her earlier break-in in Wright's Office didn't bring her the results she had been hoping for… Assuming that it was the same person to begin with."

"But the mirror was too heavy, so she couldn't move it in time before we came in!" was how Ema finished the deduction. "That solves this mystery!"

What followed was a wide grin from Maya,

"Well, she might not have had time… But we do! C'mon, Nick! Let's open the thing!"

I wished I had been able to respond as enthusiastically to this find as Maya did, but the obvious problem with this scenario that was too prevalent on my mind to enjoy the prospect of opening the safe.

"I'd love to open it up. The thing is just… I don't have the combination, Maya."

"Or rather: He doesn't remember it," Edgeworth added, and his face showed me that he shared my worries regarding the safe-problem, even though he interpreted the context differently.

"Oh…" Maya looked at the two of us for a few seconds, seemingly wanting to say or suggest something, but that was when her expression began to make it clear that she had finally understood what exactly _me_ not having the combination meant. "…OH!"

Lana's nod confirmed it, "Yes, I am afraid… Mr. Wright was the only person who knew the safe combination. Meaning that without his memory, it is impossible to open it."

"And since I doubt even you would be as ignorant as to use the same combination for two safes…" Edgeworth used the situation to shame me a bit. Of course, I didn't exactly care, since I had other things on my mind.

"W-Well, I still have a birthday, we could try to enter that… And the anniversary of my parents… The day I got my badge… The day my girlfriend almost ki—no, strike the last one…"

Edgeworth, strangely enough, did actually bat an eye at the mention of the last one, even though I hadn't finished the sentence. But he stayed silent.

"But if we just try to type in every single important day in Nick's life, this is going to take ages," Maya said. "Also, what if this is one of those locks that shut down for an hour after three incorrect tries? There's no way we'd be able to finish then!"

"Hm… We could ask to have Mr. Sengage be brought here," Edgeworth suggested. "Of course, this would take time, too. And if he refuses to cooperate, it would prove troublesome…"

"I have an idea!" That sudden exclamation came from Ema. "We'll just dust the door for fingerprints!"

"Huh? Fingerprints?" Maya asked. "How is that gonna help? We know that Nick touched the pad before already! And that girl wore gloves…"

"It is not about who touched that pad, but where!" Ema explained, and finally, I understood.

"I see! We'll use the powder to tell which of the numbers on the pad have been pressed! Then we'll just see which of the combinations with the ones we get are most likely and…"

"…Jackpot!" Ema agreed, putting on her glasses. "Exactly! So, what are we waiting for? My Fingerprint Powder, please!"

"I have it right here with me," Lana nodded, and after just a few seconds of digging around in her handbag, she was able to hand Ema the small container filled with the white substance that is used to dust for fingerprints by forensic scientists. Ema's eyes were glowing in a strange, almost scary light when she received the item from her sister. She didn't lose even a second more then. The eagerness in every single one of her movements was so apparent when Ema bowed over the safe's door and began to apply the powder to the number pad. Everyone's eyes were on her and nobody said anything. We just kept watching…

* * *

_This might be a weird spot to cut the chapter, but since it was just growing too long and I couldn't find any other way to cut it, I decided to do it here. _

_I spent a long time wondering if I can put this chapter up the way it is or if certain scenes should be cut. Truly, I feel not confident enough in my own writing yet to approach certain subjects like some of the ones mentioned in this chapter, but I felt it was needed, so I decided that it's acceptable in the context of the Ace Attorney Universe and left it in. I hope I didn't cross any boarders. I felt that channeling often seems to lessen the gravity of death just a tad too much in the minds of us fans, so I wanted to put it into perspective a bit. I am not sure if I did a good job, but I tried._

_I think I don't need to make a secret out of who exactly our "Under__-__bed Ninja" is, do I? Seriously, I'm glad I finally got to write this scene, I was itching to finally write Kay again, and even if she has all but 2 lines here, at least I am getting there. She's one of the characters I have really been dying to use in this Fanfic, the others being Apollo Justice and Tateyuki Shigaraki. Oh, by the way, cat's out of the bag. That "Raymond Shields" fellow is, in fact, Tateyuki Shigaraki. I am using the Fantranslation's name, because I wanted to avoid a dissonance there. Don't worry, his role won't contain any crucial spoilers for GK2. And should an official English version of the game ever be released, I will change all mentions of his name to the official one. _

_PCR and Gel Electrophoresis are technics that actually exist. I know because we actually did this in school in my final high school years' biology class. We used it to figure out which soya-products contained genetically altered soya. I really felt like Ema back then, searching for "Suspicious Soya Suspects" with my scientific PCR Set~ XD According to our textbooks, it's commonly for rape cases, for obvious reasons. _

_I had trouble writing Ema's dialogue, since I have never played Rise from the Ashes in English, so I had to look up the script online, only to realize I had her talking way too informally for the majority of the fanfic. Oops. I guess the fact that she *is* rather informal in the Japanese version of "Apollo Justice" (which I am playing right now) influenced me a bit. Then again, reading through the Rise from the Ashes script, I realized that her formality declines over time, as she gets more acquainted to Phoenix, so I guess it might be fine after all. Another problem I had was knowing when to use the word "scientific" and when not. In my first draft of this chapter I had her overuse it to the point of it being a verbal tick of sorts, which had me cringe when I read through it. I removed a lot of "scientifics" before putting this chapter up. X'D_

_I originally wanted to end this chapter with a call forward to "Turnabout Corner", but I eventually decided that that would be way too forced and left it out. I already had Apollo claim the spotlight in three chapters ever since I introduced him into this fic, so maybe a bunch of Apollo-free chapters for a while won't hurt. I may like the boy, but I'm not worshipping him. _

_On a different note: Oh god, Layton VS Ace Attorney is coming out soon! I preordered it, so I will get it close to release~! I can barely hold my excitement!_

_I also recently signed up for a scholarship in Japan. If all works out, I might actually be in Tokyo at the time of GS5's release and be able to witness the rage on scene! Everybody, wish me luck!_

_Next chapter will be up soon, guys! And trust me, the plot will keep thickening. All pieces have been prepared. Now they only need to be set in place. Thank you for sticking to this Fanfic for so long. You have all my gratitude from the bottom of my heart for all your reviews, every single time you read any part of this fanfic and for never giving up on me, despite my hiatuses. I swear, I will try to pay it all justice. I hope I can live up to your expectations!_


	32. The Responsibility of Identity

"Zero… Two…Four…Seven."

Ema read the digits proudly off the number-pad, making sure every single one of them was clearly audible to us.

"Those are the four keys that have been pressed the most. Zero, Two, Four, Seven."

Maya clapped into her hands, "Awesome! Now all we gotta do is get them in the right order!"

I was already browsing through all possible combinations I could think off in my mind, of course, but all I got out of it in the end was a frown.

"…Nothing," I said. "I am sorry, but even though we know the numbers now… I just can't think of any date they could fit to."

"But Wright," Edgeworth was smiling confidently. "What makes you so sure the combination must be a date?"

"Well… The safe in my office was locked with a date too, right?"

This response obviously didn't exactly win me respect-points with Edgeworth. Crossing his arms, he sighed. "Again: Not even you would be ignorant enough to use the same combination for two locks. Which means the combination for this one might be something different entirely … but likely equally simple to remember."

"But if it's not a date, then what could it be?" I asked and I could hear from my voice that I was getting a bit frantic again. I just hoped Edgeworth would hurry up and get to the point. All this excitement wasn't going to be good for my health in the long run. At all.

"Digits can mean more than just the numbers they represent, Wright," Edgeworth explained, when Ema had already found something to add to that.

"Oh, I know! They can also stand for other things! Like… letters, right?"

"Letter?" I asked.

"Yes! You just count through the alphabet and assign each letter a number! That way, you can write pretty much everything with numbers! It's a pretty common way to send simple coded messages, you know."

"Which, of course, isn't to say that all of the digits do have to stand for letters," Edgeworth obviously knew exactly where he was going, but was trying to get me to figure it out on my own. "Let us, just for example, assume it was a…50:50 ratio."

"Hm…A combination of numbers and letters…" Maya was obviously thinking hard herself. "Can you think of anything like that that could fit the numbers we have, Nick?"

"Well," I paused. I already had an idea, but I still needed a moment to reaffirm in my mind that it would actually work. When I did, I looked up and nodded, "Actually… there is something."

And without wasting any more time, I reached into my pocket and pulled out… My notes on the BD-7 case.

**TAKE THAT!**

"I think this should do," I said and presented to my friends my notes.

Maya took just a quick look, "That… Vendetta Case? What was It again… _B…D…_Oh!"

And she had understood, just like everyone else in the room.

"BD-7. Converting the letters to numbers, that would give you 'Two-Four-Seven'."

"But what about the 'Zero'?" Ema asked, seemingly not quite sure about our theory yet. Thankfully, I had thought that far already.

"I think in a decimal system, numbers with only one digit often have a 'Zero' in front of them in order to avoid confusion with numbers like 'twenty' or 'thirty' or…'seventy'…"

Ema understood, "That means… We'd get Two-Four-Zero-Seven! A perfect fit!"

"Great! We solved it!" Maya gave the number-pad a scarily eager stare. "Let's open it up, Nick!"

I could have slowed Maya's enthusiasm now and told her that there was no guarantee that what we figured out actually gave us the correct combination, but since we wouldn't really know until we tried anyway, I decided to just stay silent and type the numbers in. Two. Four. Zero. Seven. Entering the numbers felt strangely familiar, as if I had done it many, many times before. Was that the infamous 'muscle memory'? If it was, it would name we were correct… And it turned out we were. Barely had I hit 'Enter', a clicking sound was heard. The door then opened with a slight, screeching noise. Behind me, I could hear the cheerful voices of the two girls congratulating us all, while I just took a deep breath. It worked.

"And now we'll take a look."

Pushing the door aside now no longer posed a problem. Finally, we had free view on the contents of the safe: There was a kind of round device with several switches and counters on it and holes arranged in a circle on the top. Aside from that, there was also a huge, glass-like container, which held several small test tubes with liquids in them. They seemed like they'd fit in the holes on the device. A lot of other, smaller tools, gadgets and doo-dads were also spread around the safe. Before I could even try to ask what any of this stuff might be for, I already heard Ema call out,

"Ah! There it is! The PCR and Gel-Electrophoresis set!"

The shine in her eyes seemed like it was threatening to burn her up from inside.

"So, that is the stuff you were talking about?" I asked. "You can do a DNA analysis with this?"

Ema nodded widely, "Yep! All I need are the preparations I told you to make and some samples to compare them to."

"Preparations… You mean those test tubes?"

"Each of those liquids contains a sample of DNA, magnified with the help of the PCR method. This is the 'evidence' we are going to analyze!" Ema confirmed with a nod. "We now need to create a few new preparations, using samples we want to compare the evidence to! Then, we use Gel-Electrophoresis on all of them. Each sample will then give us a certain "pattern". If we compare these patterns, we can tell how similar certain samples are from the results!"

"Gel-Electrophoresis is one of the simplest and fastest methods of DNA analysis there is," Lana explained. "…But also one of the most imprecise. We won't be able to draw any exact conclusions from the results we get. Keep that in mind."

"Yeah, the preparations are useless if we have nothing to compare them to," Ema agreed.

"What are we going to sample for comparison then?" I asked. "I mean, the samples are unlabeled. We don't even know what they are supposed to be similar to."

"Hm…Oh!" Maya seemed to be having an idea, "I know! How about us?"

"Us?"

"Yeah! We'll just sample some of our own DNA and compare it to that!" Maya replied to me. "That way we can tell if the case had anything to do with us!"

_(Why would Maya think that the case could have anything to do with any of the people here?)_ I wondered to myself silently.

Still, Edgeworth seemed to agree with that idea, "It sounds like a start in any case. I have no Objections."

"Me neither." Lana nodded.

"Always ready!" Ema joined in. "And you, Phoenix?"

"Hm…" I thought just a moment before I finally gave my own confirmation. "Well, I guess there's no harm in trying. I'll donate some DNA too."

And the fire in Ema's eyes kept burning with the radiance of two suns, "Great! Everybody, prepare yourselves! Here comes the needle!"

I am not even going to question where Ema had gotten the syringe from so quickly. It was probably among the equipment Lana had brought for her anyway. In any case, Maya did not seem too happy when she realized that 'sample' actually meant '_let yourself get pierced with a pointy object'_, but she didn't even get a chance to argue. Ema took her blood-sample first. Just a few drops of blood, not more. She stored it in one of the empty test tubes, which she immediately closed once she was done. Then, she cleaned and disinfected the syringe and switched the needle. The next one to have his blood sampled was Edgeworth, who initially closed his eyes when presenting his arm to Ema, but didn't even flinch when she took the sample. Next was Lana, who stayed even calmer than Edgeworth. Then me, and, I have to admit, I jerked a bit when the needle pierced my skin. Ema's own bloodsample was taken by Lana and it was last. In the end, we had 5 neatly labeled test-tubes with a few drops of blood in each of them.

"So! And now on to preparing the samples."

Ema then carried on. With quick and precise movements she handled the chemicals and extra-tubes in the PCR set we had found, while also setting up the round device, which I believed to be the centrifuge she had been talking about earlier. Watching how concentrated Ema worked with all those tools was downright mesmerizing. Every single step she took seemed to just be 'right', which may in parts also have been due to how confident she seemed into everything she was doing. She was very exact with every drop of chemicals she added to her preparations and with every time elapse she configured into the centrifuge. Nobody said anything. Nobody dared to disturb her. I don't know how much time had passed when she had finished. I am sure though that it had been a while. The samples had taken quite some minutes of rotating in the centrifuge until Ema had finally officially labeled them as "done". The old preparations, too, had been given another ride in the centrifuge by Ema, just to be sure. Then, when she was done, she took eight pipettes from her tools, took out the prepared gel and test-stripes and applied the eight preparations to them; one to each stripe.

"In the past, this part would have taken about an hour or so, because of how slowly the DNA would have traveled through the gel," Ema gave us some trivia. "But due to modern research, the time could be reduced to just about two minutes! Isn't science amazing?"

_(That really _is_ useful… Especially with the limitations of the initial trial system in mind,)_ I thought to myself. After all, this quicker method made DNA analysis in short time-spans, like half-hour trial recesses, possible.

Just like Ema had predicted, the test-stripes began to change color in certain parts, taking on different kinds of striped patterns and after only about 2 or three minutes, the process seemed to be over.

"Done!" she exclaimed gleefully. "Now, let's take a look at the results."

The tension was rising. Would the results tell us anything? Maya, Ema, Edgeworth, Lana and me; if any of us stood in any relation to the evidence the three samples had been taken from, we'd soon know. Ema began comparing the test-stripes. Her first reaction was a surprised one.

"Huh?!"

"Ema, is something wrong?" I asked.

"It's… my sample," she sounded sort of worried. "It doesn't resemble Lana's."

"Is it supposed to?"

"Yes, because her and I are sisters, so they're supposed to match at least a bit. But now that I look at them, even Maya's sample looks more like mine than Lana's does… Maybe I switched the labels?"

"I don't think that is the case," Lana said, her eyes sliding away as she spoke. "There is a much better reason why the blood sample I took from 'Ema' would display a genetic pattern more similar to that of a member of the Fey family than to mine…"

I looked up, "Yeah. Because Ema is being channeled. That would mean that what we labeled as 'Ema's' sample, is actually Iris'."

Lana nodded, "Precisely."

"Right…" Ema spoke a bit enthusiastic now. "This isn't my body… no wonder the DNA doesn't match. That makes me wonder… Hm!"

Without explaining what she was going to do, Ema then put aside the test-stripes for a moment and removed the rubber gloves she had been wearing from her hands. She picked up the small bottle of fingerprints powder she had used on the safe earlier. Then, she rushed over to the mirror we had moved, pressed her pointing finger onto the surface… and proceeded to spread the powder all over it, using much more than necessary, creating a mess all over the place that somebody – and by that I mean "_I_" – definitely would have to clean up later. Then, she took a deep breath and blew away the overabundant dust. A big smile appeared on her face when she saw the result.

"Ha!" she proudly gazed at her 'work'. "DNA or not, I'm still me! That print proves it!"

"I assume you got your fingerprints memorized?" Edgeworth guessed. Ema turned to face him,

"Of course! What if I end up touching anything on the crime scene? I wouldn't want to accidentally send the higher ups my own finger-prints when they search for possible suspects."

I stopped myself from commenting on how it would probably be better not to spread your own fingerprints across the crime scene in first place.

_(So, the DNA doesn't change during a channeling, but the fingerprints do…)_ I summed what we had just learned up to myself. _(That would have been useful to know back in during the case in Kurain. It'd have given me a strong argument for Maya's innocence…)_

Mayas fingerprints on a knife had been an important bit of evidence back during the trial. Maya… 'my' Maya, who had been named Master of Kurain, just a few months back. I wondered what she was doing that moment. Was she well? Could she handle the responsibility? I knew she was talented in the practical aspect of channeling, but she was a bit awkward when it came to the theory. The many details about the Kurain Channeling Technique she never had been able to tell me about just further proved that. Then, I wondered if maybe she would have been able to tell me what had happened to me if she knew about it. Probably not. But I knew one thing: If she were here with me, she would be excited. Just as excited as this 'other Maya' was about the fact that I came from another world. Maybe even more.

Ema had carried on with analyzing our samples. So far, everything seemed to be to her satisfaction.

"Good! And now, let's compare the samples to the preparations from our evidence!" she said as she was about to proceed. Having all five of our samples spread out on the desk before her, Ema laid hand on the remaining three test-stripes now.

"Exhibit A!" Ema announced. "The preparation's liquid for this one was red, if I may remind you."

When Ema told us about the color of the substance in the test tube, which I had all but forgotten up to this point, something came to me.

"Red… Blood, maybe?"

"That could be," Ema had brought her glasses in position, even though they weren't exactly necessary for this. "Maybe we'll soon know! Let's see…"

Ema began to compare her so-called 'Exhibit A' to our five samples. She never reached the last two with it, though. As soon as she put the stripe side by side with the stripe of the third sample, she seemed to have found something,

"Aha! We got a partial match!"

"Really?!" Maya asked excited. "With whom? Which sample is it?"

Ema turned when she gave us the answer, her pink glasses still resting on her nose. She tugged them a bit,

"With Mr. Edgeworth's."

I saw how Edgeworth slightly raised his head at the mention of his name. He, strangely, didn't seem surprised. If anything, the look on his face made it seem like he had sort of… expected this?

_(Edgeworth… what are you thinking?) _I wondered to myself. I had the sinking feeling that I was still being left in the dark about some things… well, as we have already been taught in grade school: If you want to know about something, go ask. Though, I was definitely not going to ask Edgeworth himself directly about this now. I was pretty sure I wouldn't get any useful answer whatsoever if I did so.

"A 'partial' match?" I asked Ema. Maybe this roundabout approach would bear fruit. "What does that mean?"

She stood up straight in an attempt to look professional,

"The genetic pattern is similar, but not identical. Taking into account that both samples are obviously of human origin, I'd estimate the similarity to amount to about… uhm… 50%, I think!"

"Fifty Percent... So the sample is from someone who has about half of Edgeworth's DNA…"

"Wright."

I turned to face the one who had addressed me by my name, Edgeworth.

"You know what this means, don't you?" he asked me. "A person whose DNA is about 50% identical to mine… You understand whose sample this has to be, right?"

_(…The person the DNA sample could have been taken from. Someone whose shares about half of Edgeworth's genes… in other words… a genetic relationship.)_

And that's when it came to me. Actually, Edgeworth was right; this _was_ an easy one to figure out. So, I nodded at him,

"Yes. There are only two people the sample could have been taken from. And if we filter out the unlikely possibility… I'm pretty sure there's no doubt about whose blood this 'evidence' really contains."

"Yes? Whose blood? Whose?" Maya was on the edge of her seat, moving back and forth in suspense. "Don't make it so exciting, Nick! Tell us who it is!"

I took a short breath, before I went on,

"It's Gregory Edgeworth."

"Miles'… father?" Maya asked. She didn't quite seem to understand, so Edgeworth began to explain our reasoning.

"A 50% similarity hints at a parental relationship, meaning that the evidence could either be from my mother or father. However… my mother passed away a long time ago, much longer than Wright or I have ever been involved in any legal matters whatsoever, which means the sampled DNA has to be my father's. And in that case, there is only one single incident this evidence could belong to…"

"The BD-7 case," I said. "No wonder it was set as the safe-combination…"

"But… wait!" Ema interrupted. "I remember that case! Phoenix passed it over to another prosecutor! Why should he still have evidence from it? And why would he ask me to secretly analyze it?"

My mind was already much further than Ema's in this matter. And from the looks on their faces, I could tell Edgeworth and Lana were as well. We all understood what it meant. The fact that I had evidence from a case that had been passed on to another prosecutor, hidden away in a safe, with all labels that could hint at the exhibits' true origin removed.

"Mr. Wright," Lana stepped up to me. "I owe you and Mr. Edgeworth my life. But you too must be aware of the gravity of the matter. Yet… it is not yet absolutely proven that this evidence does really belong to the BD-7 incident."

I said nothing. The few seconds of silence this gave me were just the time I needed to get my thoughts sorted and wrap my mind around just what we had discovered just now. And even though I should have probably expected something like this already, due to all the things I had figured out the past few days… Somehow, it still shocked me.

"You must understand, I am not here as the Chief Prosecutor, but as Ema's sister. Not more and not less," Lana spoke on when she realized I wasn't going to add anything. "There will be no immediate consequences by my hand, regardless of what we discover here. Still, you have to be aware of the unavoidable repercussions that you might have to face eventually. Because of this, I will give you the choice: Do you want to continue with the analysis of this evidence? Or would you rather want to quit while a connection to the BD-7 incident is still not entirely proven?"

So, I had to choose now: Continue, at the risk of possibly having to deal with the consequences of the 'other Phoenix' having held back and hidden evidence to a murder case for several years? Or just quit and never look into the BD-7 case again? …As if I even had any options there. So what if the 'other Phoenix' would have to explain himself for making this evidence 'disappear'? If this really was what he did, it was only fair he would have to be faced with it, right? … But why did I feel like there was a rock in my stomach? What was this heavy weight that pulled me down and made it hard for me to use my voice right now? Fear? Why did it matter? I wasn't going to stay here. This wasn't my life… I wasn't going to create any more lies to make the 'other me' look better. No, actually, there were some things I just didn't want to do, period. We had gotten so far investigating this place, I wasn't going to back off now because of something like this.

"We are going on," I finally replied. "There are two more samples. We should continue comparing them to ours."

"Phoenix… Are you sure? What Lana says sounds like this was a pretty grave matter…" Ema asked. Just liked Maya, she didn't seem to fully understand what the problem was. But I nodded,

"It's alright. Just label the first stripe with Gregory Edgeworth's initials and continue."

"Well… OK then…"

"Wright…" I heard Edgeworth say from the side, I turned to him before he could say any more.

"If that's the kind of person 'I' was, then that person should be faced with what he's been doing all this time," I told him. "Better sooner than later."

"Hmpf… That is what you are saying now," he responded skeptically. "And I don't doubt you made the correct choice. But will you think the same once your memory has returned? This is all I wonder."

"…I don't care for how that 'other me' will feel about it! We didn't come this far just to throw it all away now!"

"…_'Other you_'?"

I backed off a bit when I realized that I had said that part out loud. I hadn't meant to… But now, Edgeworth had heard it. He now knew exactly how I 'thought' about the matter. And immediately, his stern eyes were on me.

"You can't just disconnect yourself from what you've done, Wright."

I stayed silent. What should I have said? _'But it's true, I am actually from an alternate universe and a different person entirely'_? Edgeworth wasn't like Maya. To Edgeworth, seeing was believing. He needed evidence. And this was something I would never have evidence for. I had nothing but my own memories. And still…

"I am… not that kind of person..." I said, even though I knew it wouldn't exactly make myself look better to Edgeworth. Somehow, my emotions were getting the better of me. "I would never resort to measures like that! So why should I feel responsible for it?"

"A gap in your memory will not undo your mistakes, Phoenix!"

I shrunk away at the mention of my first name. And not just that… There was this piercing pain again. The heavy weight in my body grew heavier. He was right, I knew it. If it was just Amnesia, it wouldn't matter that I didn't remember. I would still carry the responsibility. But… the one who did this wasn't me… right?

There… was nothing I had to feel responsible for…right?

Edgeworth resumed talking,

"But maybe it is wrong to confront you with this truth here and now. After all…your lack of memory goes all the way back to our childhoods."

"…Does that make me a child to you?"

"I am merely saying that I perhaps shouldn't expect you to be able to carry this heavy responsibility in your current state. That is all."

I felt my hands balling to fists, but I tried to calm myself. Edgeworth wasn't doing anything wrong. He hadn't said anything wrong. The problem wasn't him. It was me, and I knew it. Right… the only one 'wrong' here… The one 'out of place' was me. And still, I couldn't help but feel upset. At the accusations, at being likened to the 'Phoenix' who had hurt Maya and Mia and everyone else, and at not being taken seriously by the one person I want to take me seriously.

"I'm not a kid," I told Edgeworth with emphasis. "All choices I make, I make fully aware of what they mean. I know what I could be getting myself into. I know it!"

"But are you ready to face the consequences?" Edgeworth asked. "Without substituting yourself for an imaginary '_other you_' to carry the burden in your stead?"

Silence. What was I supposed to say? He just didn't understand the situation…

"Phoenix!"

"I…" This shouldn't have been such a hard question to answer. It really shouldn't have been. Only one deep breath later, I could finally reply. "I am. I …_can_ take it."

Looking Edgeworth directly in the eye, I concluded, "I don't need to run away. I'll take the full responsibility for whatever I need to."

"…Very well. I will hold you to your word… Wright."

Edgeworth's eyes were still as stern and skeptical as before, but I felt this discussion had come to a close. My feeling was right. Edgeworth's next move was to address the younger Skye sister,

"You heard Wright, Ema. Let's continue the analysis."

"As good as done!" Ema smiled. "Exhibit B! The black preparation!"

_(Black… Most likely not blood,) _I decided to myself. _(I wonder what this sample was taken from.)_

Ema eagerly pulled the second preparation's test-stripe to herself and took a close look at it. As soon as she did, however, her expression quickly changed from 'curious' to 'confused'.

"Huh…?"

"Anything strange, Ema?" Maya asked.

The channeled girl just tilted her head a bit,

"It's a dud."

"A dud? As in… a 'failure'?"

Ema nodded,

"Yeah… The test-stripe somehow stayed blank. That shouldn't have happened."

"How can that be?" I asked. "I mean, you did it the exact same way as with all the others, right?"

"Yes, but if that stripe is to be believed, there wasn't any DNA in the sample to begin with," Ema seemed like she was more thinking out aloud than actually talking to us. "Strange… Maybe the preparation was too old and went stale?"

"That's a possibility," Lana commented. "It is still weird that it stayed entirely blank."

"Let's try the next one!" Maya seemed eager to get tangible results again. "Maybe that one will work!"

And so, Ema went on to the third and final test-stripe from the three preparations we had started out with. She quickly informed us that the liquid of this sample had been red… another blood-sample? Hopefully it'd at least show some kind of result, unlike the second sample.

"…Oh!" only a few seconds later, Ema looked up from her work. "We've got a match! A perfect one!"

I listened up,

"A perfect match?"

"Yes! The sample is pretty much identical to…" And then, Ema made a pause. A short, but still suspicious pause, before she hesitantly stuttered the rest of the sentence, "M-M…Mine?!"

"What?!" I took big steps as I rushed over to her. "Let me see!"

Taking a look at the two test-stripes was enough to verify Ema's claim: The stripe with her name on it really looked exactly the same as the one she had applied the final preparation to. I barely trusted my eyes.

"They're the same… They were both sampled from the same person…"

"But, Nick!" Maya was looking across my shoulder, seeming no less surprised than Ema or me. "Why would he have a sample of Ema's blood in the safe? Has that got anything to do with BD-7?"

"No, Maya. Not 'Ema's' blood," Edgeworth corrected her. "Remember what we spoke of earlier. The sample does actually belong to…"

"…Iris," Maya finished the sentence on her own, cautiously holding her hand in front of her mouth, like she was somehow afraid of what she was saying. "The sample from Nick's safe… is from Iris?"

_(And if the evidence is really all connected to the BD-7 case, that would mean…)_

I felt a bit dizzy. This… What was this supposed to mean? Nobody had mentioned Iris being involved with BD-7 so far! Nobody had said anything like that…

_(The second preparation was black… Iris' hair, maybe? If it really went stale… This makes too much sense…)_

What had Iris been doing at the site of Gregory Edgeworth's murder? Had she been there with Dahlia? If the sample was even from the same case. It seemed likely, though. And why did he, the 'other Phoenix', keep this sample in his safe? There was one possibility on my mind… just one… But I didn't want to think of that one. I just didn't…

Thankfully, I didn't have to. Before anyone could even say anything else regarding the matter of the final sample's analysis, we were suddenly interrupted, by the sound of a Steel Samurai Ringtone. At once, everyone's eyes were at the only person who still carried a phone with that ringtone on him. Edgeworth evidently didn't let this bother him much and reached into his pockets. A single 'bleep' was audible before he answered the call,

"Miles Edgeworth, Attorney at Law. Who am I speaking to?"

What followed was a pause that lasted for just a few seconds. Edgeworth was apparently listening to the person on the other end of the line. Whatever he was told, however, he didn't even reply to it. Instead, he took the phone off his ear and held it in my direction.

"It is for you, Wright."

That took me by surprise. Who would call Edgeworth in order to talk to me? Shouldn't the first move be to call my own phone? ….Oh.

I had to remind myself to get that phone replaced as quickly as possible. This was getting embarrassing. Feeling just a bit ridiculous, I took Edgeworth's cellphone and answered the call.

"Yes? Phoenix Wright speaking?"

"**_Mr. Wright, Pal!_**"

I don't think I need to tell anyone who's overexcited voice was yelling at me from the other end of the line.

"Detective Gumshoe?" I was a bit surprised when I recognized the voice and speech, especially when I recalled that there were actually supposed to be six people present here right now, not five. "Where are you calling from? We were supposed to meet at the crime scene, remember?"

"Ehm, well, you see, Pal, I got kind of tied up… very tied up… bad stuff happened, and…" He barely made any sense and when I noticed how nervous his voice sounded, I grew a bit worried. This wasn't normal, even for him.

"…Detective…?"

I'd not have said anything at all had I known that the next thing he'd do would be to suddenly snap at me,

"_-You better get that phone of yours replaced and quickly, Pal!_"

I jerked away from the receiver.

"I-I am working on it!" I swore in the most sincere tone I could muster.

"You'd better be! If you had your phone, I'd not have wasted all the time calling you three times in a row, Pal! And… and…" His voice went less aggressive again, "S…S-Sorry. It's just. It all happened so suddenly... I'm still trying to swallow it all, you know…"

"Detective," now I knew something definitely wasn't right. "What is going on? Where are you calling from?"

"The hospital." Gumshoe might not have been yelling at me any longer, but now his voice was shaking. "I-It's about Maggey, Pal. S-She had an accident…and…and…"

I held my breath for a moment. _Maggey_. Right, she had borrowed Gumshoe's car. No wonder he was acting the way he was right now.

"How… is she?" I barely even dared to ask. "Is she…?"

"She's alive… Still in the operation room," I only rarely had heard the Detective so close to tears before. "The doctors said she's probably gonna make it, but… I… I-I just don't know how this could happen, Pal..."

'_Maggey's lousy luck_' was the most obvious response, but I didn't think the Detective needed to be reminded of that right now, so I kept my mouth shut about it.

"A-Anyway… that's why I didn't make it to the meeting we had scheduled. I'm sorry…"

"It's alright, really," I felt bad that Gumshoe apologized for this. He shouldn't even have felt the need to call me, given the situation. "If you don't mind, could you tell me if you know a bit more about what happened? What kind of accident was it?"

For some reason, I just felt the need to ask for this. I can't quite explain it, but somehow Gumshoe's car having an accident that particular day struck me as 'odd'…

"They told me it was a technical problem. Looks like the breaks were defect…"

"Defect…?" Now I was sure something was odd about this. And when I thought back to my ride in Gumshoe's car the day before, I realized what it was. "Wait, I thought you only recently had the car checked! How did that happen?"

"Don't ask me, Pal! I know as much as you do!"

_(This seems strange… Even considering Maggey's luck, why should the car suddenly break down so soon after the last repairs? And if there really was something wrong all along, why didn't it already fail when we were driving the way up to Kurain the other day? That road was much more-)_

Suddenly, something came to me. The road to Kurain… Right, something had happened on the way. Someone had been there… in the trunk. The girl with the scarf. And I still didn't know who she was and what she had been in the car for…

_(No way…Could it be…?)_

"…Ah! Looks like they're bringing Maggey back from surgery!" The Detectives voice was broken up by loud sounds in-between his words, likely those of his own steps. "Sorry, Pal, but I got to hang up now! I'll call back later!"

Before I could say even as much as "Bye", the line was cut and nothing but bleeping waited for me on the other end any longer. I put the phone down, the thoughts about Gumshoe's car and the possible reasons for its breakdown still on my mind.

"Nick, what is going on?" Maya's voice interrupted me in my thoughts and drew my attention to her. "That sounded like something serious happened…"

"The Detective _did_ seem quite wound up on the phone," Edgeworth remembered.

I took a moment to consider, before I nodded to nobody in particular and began to explain,

"Well…"

I told them about everything Gumshoe had told me, about Maggey, the accident and about his car. And also about the strange suspicions that I couldn't shake off... About the girl with the black scarf.

"…You think the Under-bed Ninja was trying to kill Maggey?!"

I was amazed by how quickly Maya had come to this partially wrong conclusion, and had still managed to make it sound ridiculous.

"I doubt she actively was trying to harm Maggey… But, yeah, I think it's possible that that girl had something to do with the Detective's car's malfunction."

Edgeworth seemed to understand my reasoning so far,

"In that case, the intended target would likely have either been the Detective… or you."

"That's what I was getting at," I nodded. "The rigged brakes might have just 'gone off' too late."

"And Ms. Byrde took the brunt of it," Lana finished. "Well, she has never been the luckiest person. Even when she was still on the force."

"Though, we shouldn't draw any hasty conclusions," Edgeworth warned us, while walking a few steps through the room. "We have little reason to suspect that girl, other that she was in the car for a certain period of time."

"She clearly has it out for me," I argued. "She tried to steal from me at least once and ran both times I saw her. And why else would she have hidden in there in the first place? You have to admit, this makes her suspicious."

Edgeworth stayed defensive about the matter, "It would not be proper to simply declare her the culprit without looking closer into the matter!"

With every sentence we said, Edgeworth and me got louder and I felt like I was getting riled up. I didn't understand why Edgeworth felt the need to defend that girl so adamantly when just earlier he had said he didn't even know her. Maybe it was just our natural tendency to disagree with each other. No, that wasn't quite it…

In retrospect, I'm thankful that someone decided to barge into our conversation before it could derail into an actual fight. It was Maya who made a suggestion,

"Then let's try to find out more about it! We can go and the Detective or that girl who had the accident. Also… that Ninja left Miles' friend's business card, right? We should go and ask him if he knows anything about her."

Edgeworth took a sidestep to face the girl, "Ask Raymond...hm…"

"Anything wrong with this, Mr. Edgeworth?" Lana asked.

He shook his head, "No, it does sound like the most logical route to take. Raymond might indeed know more about the matter. Still, it makes me wonder…"

Wonder about what? If anyone here gave _me _a reason to wonder about anything, it was Edgeworth. By now, I was sure he had something on his mind that I didn't know the first thing about, but what could that be? What did he know that I didn't know about? Of course, it could be a lot of things. I still lacked almost two decades of knowledge that he knew very well about. There was so much I still needed to know about and so little time to look into it all. Trying not to rush things with all this time pressure was hard, especially given how many things were going on at once. It made it hard to focus on everything appropriately… even when it was the people right around me.

So I was surprised when Ema, who was the next to say anything, didn't add any suggestions. The topic she addressed was a different one. She sounded rather tired as she spoke.

"Well…Whatever you're gonna do I'm afraid I won't be able to be much of a help."

"Ema…?" Lana asked, looking at her sister in worry. She got a sigh in reply,

"I'll have to leave. Iris' power is running out again and I think I hurt her when I struggled to stay last time around. I don't want to do that again, so…"

"I see…"

Lana said that, but not more. I guess she didn't want to put her disappointment on display, but she was evidently having a hard time trying to do so. Her head hung too low for her to still look stoic. Her occasional deep breaths were a giveaway too. Us others just stood around and watched, not necessarily at loss regarding what to say, but just not wanting to say anything insensible. Finally, Lana herself continued to speak,

"I'll… miss you, Ema."

And silence. Ema looked at her, but she didn't reply. Not right away. Not in the next few seconds. There was a heavy atmosphere hanging in the air. They both knew what this was about. And they both understood there was no solution for their 'problem'. There couldn't be. But was there really nothing they could 'do' at all? Ema seemed to think otherwise. Because, as soon as a few seconds of silence and unspoken words had passed and a few sad looks had been exchanged, she stepped forward. And just like before, in the courtroom, when Lana had been unable to stand on her own legs upon facing Ema, her little sister now threw herself around her. She held Lana tightly to her. And then she whispered to her.

"No. Don't miss me. Please," Ema told her. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll always stay with you and watch, no matter what it seems like to you."

"Ema…"

"Please, just believe in me."

Whatever Lana had wanted to argue with, she didn't say it now. Ema's request for her sister to just trust into her was enough. I think there was nothing else that needed to be said. Silently, they held each other for just a few moments longer, until Ema began to let go. Lana was reluctant to allow it, but in the end, she let Ema back away.

"I love you a lot."

Lana's voice shook and she couldn't suppress a sob.

"I love you even more," Ema had tears in her eyes, but she smiled. "About 25% more!"

"You can't validate this number."

"Betcha I can!"

"…Scientifically speaking?"

"Scientifically speaking!" And Ema put her glasses down onto her nose one last time. "I'll send you the results once I'm done!"

Lana laughed when she heard this and Ema herself quickly joined in. The heavy air in the room was finally somewhat dispelled. Others felt in the position to talk again and stepped forward, beginning with Edgeworth,

"Ema, you were a great help in today's investigations. I'd like to thank you for your assistance."

He bowed a bit to express his gratitude. Ema actually blushed a bit.

"It was fun hanging out with you!" Maya was the next. She grinned. "If you ever want to stop by again, you'll know where you find the Feys, alright?"

Ema grinned back,

"I'll remember that!"

I was last.

"Thank you. For everything. And I mean, everything. You did great, Ema."

"You're making it sound like we were done already!" Ema complained. "There's still a lot about this case that we haven't figured out yet! Stay sharp and keep going, I know you guys can solve this thing! And… if you really need some more help, well…I'll just do like Maya and say: You know how to call!"

Even after three years, I still found it weird, how easy it was to just "call". No matter if it was Mia or anybody else. Some would think the situation would lose its heavy character due to this, but, no matter how weird it may sound, somehow, it just didn't. It was still hard. And everything Edgeworth had said earlier still applied. All Ema and Lana had said still applied too. It seemed like sometimes, backdoors just didn't really make life easier… But rather, were necessary. Like here. Without Ema, we would never have found out what we found out today. Without a Medium to channel her, the information would have stayed stuck on the other side with her.

I nodded in reply to what Ema had said. 'If we '_really'_ need more help', she had said… I knew what she implied with this, and I agreed. It was like Edgeworth had said. And I was sure that Maya's offer, too, had just been one of her usual jokes. We can't ignore what happened to Ema, after all. And if we had her channeled too many times, it would only become even more difficult for Lana to eventually get over it and be able to let go and move on. I am sure we all knew it and thought the same about it. Ema too.

When everything had been said and done, she stepped back from us, a smile still on her face. When she stood right in front of the bed, she stopped and closed her eyes.

"_Goodbye_," she said, and before she had breathed back in, Ema was gone and Iris, who dizzily stumbled back the final step towards the bed and sat down on it, was back.

* * *

_Remember when I said the next chapter would be "up soon"? Yeeeeeaaah... funny story about that._

_Some friends got me to try out the Persona games. Guess what, I ended up loving them. During a time where I was actually also very busy with University... you can see where this is going, can't you?_

_Bottom line, I spent the majority of my spare time in the past three months defeating Jungian and Freudian Horros in realms representing human subconcious supported by libido-bursting bear-mascots, ridiculously femenine robots and the arguably most adorable and attractive Grim Reaper in the history of videogames. That's 200+ hours worth of J-RPG that I juggled with student duties. I guess you can see why I didn't have time to write on._

_Of course, I already had 1 1/2 chapters more done before I even uploaded the last one, so why didn't I just upload that to bridge the time? Well, that's a bit of a story too; my best had betaed this chapter and the last one simultanously, but I wanted a second beta to take another look at it before I upload it. Thing is, I kept forgetting to ask the second beta and the thing ended up dragging and dragging... _

_...Well, it's finally done now. I apologize for the horrible wait. I hope the chapter was at least worth it._

_I'm currently playing Layton VS Ace Attorney. I hope to get my drive to write more quickly back from that soon. All I can say so far: The character design and animations for the game. Are. AWESOME. _


	33. R 'n K

**May 3****rd****, 5:00pm**

Just like Ema had guessed, Iris was in a much better condition when her consciousness returned this time around, though that might have been due to her generally better performance as well. Not only had the channeling lasted a lot longer, Ema had also been able to recall a lot more of her memory. Maya's makeshift Channeling Chamber seemed to have done the trick. Regardless, Iris was still exhausted and feeling dizzy when she came to. In order to give her a chance to rest, Lana volunteered to drive Maya, Iris and me to Misty Fey's flat. There was something we had to do there as well, aside from getting to a bed she could make use of. After all, the mystery of how Detective Gumshoe's car had suddenly broken down was still unsolved. While Edgeworth met with the Detective in order to check on him and poor Maggey, Maya and I would go and try to get information from the only other possible source we had found, and that was the old Edgeworth law firm… The place I had wanted to go to ever since Maya had first mentioned it during today's trial. Originally, Edgeworth had wanted to split the tasks the other way around, so his reaction to my pleading to let me go to meet his old colleague in his stead was met skeptically by him.

'_There is a certain case I've wanted to ask him about,' _I had told Edgeworth truthfully. _'Also, if he really is somehow connected to the girl who broke in here, I'd like to ask the questions myself.' _

That's what I told him, and I was surprised at how easily Edgeworth had agreed to let me meet his old friend in his stead...

The old Edgeworth Law Offices weren't far from Misty Fey's flat. The footway barely took ten minutes. I was taking quick steps, though, to make sure this wouldn't take too much time. It was already past four in the afternoon, and I'd still have to go and interview a certain high school student later on. It was hard to focus on moving forward when a figure that almost had her entire head obscured by a dark purple cloth was walking beside me, though. A pair of comically large sunglasses ensured that her eyes, too, were not visible.

"Er… Is this how you usually dress when you go out?" I asked Maya carefully. She had insisted on coming along with me when I had told Edgeworth that I was going to visit Mr. Shields. Her reasoning had been that she was 'pretty interested' herself. In what exactly she was interested, she didn't tell us.

"Mm-hm!" the reply came with a huge nod. Her voice was subdued, and she evidently tried to make herself sound deeper, "My outdoor disguise to shield my identity from the eyes of the public! Pretty neat, huh?"

My only thought was that if she was trying to _not _attract attention, she had clearly failed her goal, but I kept that to myself.

"While we're at it, Nick, what's with the hat and the hoodie?"

I couldn't exactly tell where Maya's eyes were, thanks to her monstrous glasses, but I am rather sure that she was eying my current outfit, which was unusually casual for my standards, from top to bottom.

My hand was on my head. I tried to pull the grey beanie down in order to make sure it'd stay where I wanted it to stay.

"Well, Edgeworth warned me that Mr. Shields might not be too happy to speak with the infamous _'Phoenix Wright, Prosecutor with the worst morals in town'_. So I decided that it might be good to try and approach him incognito..."

"… And the hair and suit would be a dead giveaway! Got it!" Maya grinned. "If you need any advice, just ask me! As you can see, I know all about '_incognito'_!"

I just took another look at the sunglasses-wearing, purple clothed Maya and stayed silent.

_(… Yes, not telling her about the outfit before I got dressed was definitely a good choice.)_

Before long, we found ourselves standing at the place we had been searching for. A heavy, old mahogany door with a brass sign out front, which had certainly seen a few too many rainy days for its own good, read '_Edgeworth Law Offices_' in deeply engraved letters. While the building looked somewhat elegant, the strong signs of aging present on it kept it from looking expensive or aloof. It seemed traditional, but not too remote from the 'common man'. When I recall the few, rare times I had gotten to meet Edgeworth's father, I thought that the atmosphere of the location really suited him. Adjusting my beanie one last time – I felt really paranoid about the possibility that my spikes might be peeking out – I led my hand up to the doorbell and rang it once. A loud, short melody, which I recognized as a rendition of the Winchester Chimes, reached our ears. A few moments later, we heard footsteps. Someone came and opened the door.

"Welcome to our law firm. I hope the way here wasn't too troublesome. How may I help you?"

The one who had opened the door for us was a girl, just a bit younger than Maya, dressed in a cute, but somewhat formal-looking outfit, including a rose-colored blouse she hadn't buttoned. It was hard to tell, but I wondered if what she wore under that blouse might be her school uniform. It sure looked like one. Long and wavy black hair fell across her shoulders and held over her face by a pink hairband. Her eyes were a vivid green. All in all, she gave me the impression of a polite, calm young lady. I felt vaguely reminded of Iris. I was also surprised, because I somehow had expected the chief himself to answer the door… Did the girl work here?

"Er… Good day. We are here to talk to Mr. Raymond Shields…"

"Oh, of course!" She tilted her head a bit and smiled softly. "You are in luck! Mr. Shields is here right now. Come in, please."

Keeping the door held open, she stepped aside and showed us the way. Maya and I looked at each other for a moment before we followed her in. The inside of the firm seemed somewhat newer than the outside, although not exactly modern either. It was a bit more spacious than my own firm, though.

"Sit here, please," the wavy-haired girl led us to a large, green couch and made a gesture towards it. With a polite '_Thank you'_ each, Maya and I accepted the offer. She then stood before us, tilting her head a bit yet again,

"Would you like some tea? Or coffee, maybe?"

"That is very nice, but I don't really need anything. Thank you," I responded, while Maya thought a bit.

"I'd like some fruit tea, if you have some, please!"

Wavy-Hair smiled, "How about strawberry?"

"Sounds great!"

"Alright, strawberry then."

That said, Wavy-Hair gave Maya a short nod and walked behind a desk on the other side of the room, where there was also a small table on which a coffee machine and a water boiler stood. The sign on the desk read 'Secretary"… Oh, so that's who she was. Actually, I should have known. Maybe a girl like this doesn't make me think of a secretary right away because of my personal experiences with lawyers – or rather, myself – and younger ladies.

"She seems like a nice girl. Mature and responsible," I whispered to Maya, giving her a meaningful look. What I got in return was a cheeky smile.

"I guess so… But she also seems a bit boring, don't you think? I bet investigating with a girl like that would be a real drag!"

"That's not really what a secretary is for, though."

_(And seriously, I'd not mind a bit less excitement in my cases every now and then…)_

Wavy-Hair – or, rather, the secretary – had meanwhile finished setting up the water for Maya's tea. She now sat down at her desk and began swiftly typing on the keyboard of the computer that was placed there, accompanied by the soft humming of the machine.

"Excuse me, but do you have an appointment?" she asked, peeking at us from her spot behind the desk.

"Actually, this is sort of a spontaneous visit. I hope that doesn't cause any trouble?"

"Oh, no, not at all, we are veeery used to 'spontaneous visits'!" she replied, confusing me for a moment with the way she'd drawn out the 'e' in 'very'. I thought it sounded a bit mocking, but I had probably been just imagining it. I just wasn't used to polite girls like this.

"If I may just have your names, please?"

The secretary was looking at us in anticipation. I was about to respond when I suddenly felt a lump form in my throat. _Names. _Oh no.

"E-Er… Names… Of course… Um… UGH-!"

Before I could say anything more, Maya had elbowed me in the ribs, which quickly shut me up. In my stead, she faked a cheerful voice and spoke,

"I am… Mary G. Hilfin! A-And his name's Ni..Nicolas! Nicolas… Enigmar!"

I was fighting the urge to yelp in pain at the bruise Maya had bestowed upon me, so I was too busy to react to any of this right away. The Secretary seemingly took no notice of my suspicious behavior, though, and just nodded with her smile still on her face before she proceeded to enter our names into her databank.

" '_Enigmar'_?" I skeptically whispered to Maya while the sound of the secretary's typing still drowned my voice out.

"_It was the first name that came to me, OK_?"

"_But isn't that…"_

Just then, the typing sounds from the secretary's desk stopped.

"All done!"

I quickly shut up, pretending I had never said anything. The last thing we needed was the secretary getting suspicious of us. It was a miracle she wasn't already, really. As Maya and me sat up straight on the couch like a pair of kids playing angels in an attempt to hide the fact they had hid a wild ferret in the garage, where it was probably tearing the car tires to shreds that very moment, the secretary stood up from her chair and bowed slightly,

"Please wait a short moment. I will go and tell Mr. Shields that you want to speak to him."

And with that she turned and headed for the door on her end of the room. She went through it, leaving Maya and me behind alone for the moment. My eyes were on Maya,

"Alright, _'Mary'_. We are going through with hiding our identities then?"

Maya demonstratively adjusted her headscarf then and nodded, "Of course! This whole place screams '_suspicious'_, after all!"

I was convinced that those so-called 'screams' Maya was hearing were probably just my own suppressed whimpers at that bruised rib of mine, but I didn't see the point in questioning her judgment right now.

"Don't worry, I will be keeping that dubious secretary distracted! You go, talk to Miles' friend."

"Er… Alright." _(How exactly is that girl 'dubious'…?)_

The secretary didn't even take a minute to inform her boss of our visit. Just when our short exchange had finished, she came back out.

"Mr. Shields in waiting for you in his office, Mr. Enigmar, Ms. Hilfin. You can go and speak to him now."

"Oh that's alright, Nick here will do the boring talking. I'll be a nice younger cousin, once removed, and wait here! Right, Nick?"

"…R-Right."

I stood up and made my way towards the door on the other side of the room, where the wavy-haired secretary invitingly held the door for me and closed it the moment I had stepped inside. Maybe it was just Maya's paranoid spy-talk from earlier, but why did I get this eerie feeling that said _'you just crossed the point of no return_' when I heard the door click behind me? The atmosphere I was greeted with was a familiar one, though. The office I stepped into looked so perfectly normal, I could have imagined myself working in it. I immediately knew what everything was needed for and that it was standing in just the right place. Whoever worked here had a similar taste in interior design to myself. Or to Mia. It was sort of a mix of both. I liked it. As for this 'Whoever worked here', I was meeting with him now. I found him sitting behind a desk at the far end of the room, looking in my direction invitingly. It was a lanky man with curly, dark hair. He wasn't wearing a suit, but on his head rested a hat – a fedora – that I found triggered a vague familiarity somewhere in the back of my mind. He took it off, though, the moment I entered and bowed a bit while remaining seated, probably as a gesture of respect – one I couldn't return, because it would have ruined my cover. I felt a bit ashamed.

"Hello and good day! You must be Mr. Enigmar?" the man greeted open-heartedly. There was a nice, but somewhat knowing smile on his face. He had a strange air to him.

"Er, yes. That would be me," I replied, still ashamed that I couldn't take off my hat as well, but I tried to at least seem a bit less rude by returning the bow. "And you must be… Mr. Shields, then?"

"The one and only."

I was already walking over to the desk, and began to hold out my hand for a polite shake.

"It's a real pleasure," I said. I found myself confused when my dialogue partner initially remained seated instead of standing up and shaking hands, but quickly realized that he, in fact, _was_ trying to stand up. He took longer to do so than normal. Only when I saw his hand reach behind his chair to pick up a long stick that looked suspiciously much like a crutch – scratch that, it _was_ a crutch – I understood.

"Oh, excuse me!"

I quickly pulled back my hand and attempted to help Mr. Shields down again – there was really no need to exhaust himself like this for something as pointless as standing up to shake my hand – but instead of taking my help and seating himself once more, he swung himself up, transitioning his weight out of the chair and onto the crutch. Then, he threw an arm around my shoulder and patted me on the back.

"No worries, no worries! Uncle Ray's legs here might not be what they used to be when he still was a wee kid, but that doesn't mean I can't take the time to greet a guest appropriately! Still, I'm not much of a handshake guy anyway… How 'bout a hug instead?"

"Um.. S-Sure…?"

Before I had even decided if the guy was serious or kidding, he had already squeezed me between his arms. It was such a strange, unfamiliar feeling, I froze on the spot. I had never had a man hug me before. Actually, the only people – aside from my parents and Iris –who had ever considered me "hugging-material" were Maya and Pearls and even with them, this gesture was reserved for rare occasions. The older man getting so… 'affectionate' with me sure took me off guard.

"Ahahahaha!"

He seemed to be very aware of how uncomfortable I was feeling at the moment, at least if his laugh was any indication.

"Ah, excuse me, good boy, didn't mean to startle you! One's definition of 'personal space' just changes a bit once you spend some time abroad!"

"Abroad?" I asked, trying to sound interested. Only a good first impression would earn me the trust-points I needed to get the information I wanted. "What kind of places have you been to?"

"Oh, lots of places, France, Canada… you name it," he grinned, but I couldn't tell if he was being proud or just friendly. His expression turned just a bit more serious for the next line, "Knowing different law systems is a part of being a good lawyer too, you know. I swore to myself that I was going to live up to this place's name in every way I could, and no silly old prosthetic is gonna keep me from doing so."

He sat down again and lightly hit one of his legs with his crutch after he had done so. A wooden sound was heard.

_(Living up to the place's name… I can understand that,) _I thought to myself. _(I wouldn't want to disgrace Mia's name in any way either…)_

So far I had a rather good impression of this person – aside from the hugging thing, of course. He was just as different from Edgeworth as I was, yet I could see how the two of them would get along well. They seemed to have the same determination and diligence in their work. Those German lessons I had been thinking about earlier were starting to sound more and more inviting.

"… Then again, you probably didn't come all the way here in order to talk about this old man's aspirations in life, did you?"

"Yes… I-I mean, no! Ah, I mean, not that they're uninteresting, but..!"

I, on the other hand, was not exactly giving that guy the impression of being good with words right now. I heard him chuckle at my futile attempts to make sense.

"Hehe… Don't worry, good boy, just calm down, OK? You're with a friend! I was once young, too, you know!"

_(…'was' young? How old is he?)_

As usual, my unspoken question was answered by my dialogue partner's next line,

"Once you reach your thirties, you start seeing life with different eyes, you know? That's when one gets more "settled", so to speak."

_(… In your thirties, hm…?)_

I was trying to imagine myself in four years or more based on what Mr. Shields had just told me, when he added,

"…Of course, some people just can't deal with pressure."

_(… Aaaand that would be my category.) _

I sighed to myself.

"Cupcake?"

The outstretched hand of Mr. Shields waited for me, offering the announced treat.

"Oh... Yes, thank you…"

I didn't know where he had gotten it from so quickly, but I saw no reason to decline, especially seeing how I had already declined the secretary's tea earlier. The people here were so nice, not accepting their hospitability was almost a crime.

Mr. Shields and I were sitting across from each other now. He bent forward a bit, his arms resting on his desk, as he went on,

"Well, let's try this again. What brings you to Uncle Ray's humble office?"

I quickly chewed to swallow the bite of cupcake I had taken,

"I'm… here to ask some questions, actually."

"Oho, a quiz is it, then?" Mr. Shields chuckled. "Alright, hit me, "Quizmaster". Let's see if I can walk home with the million in my pocket!"

I laughed at the joke, though more because I was trying to be polite than due to actually being amused by it. The sad thing was, given some certain previous experiences, I could actually see myself make the same joke… when I'm getting desperate…

Deciding how to move on now was a bit complicated. There were several completely different things I wanted to ask him about. What should I start with? Eventually, I settled for the question that I personally found more urging,

"So, I heard you were involved with the Gramarye trial last month," I started. "I've wanted to get some information about that case. Could you help me, maybe?"

"Hm… The Gramarye case? Of course, I remember that one. Was quite a rush," Mr. Shields moved his head a bit. He seemed to be thinking. What didn't change was that knowing smile on his face. "… Come to think of it, my client's name for that case was 'Enigmar', too. Any relation, hm?"

"A-Ah, n-no, not really!" I quickly tried to talk myself out. Badly. "'Enigmar' is… a pretty common name, you know! Like Smith! Or Miller!"

"Or 'Wright'."

I couldn't help but flinch when Mr. Shields said this without even bothering to change his expression,

"W-W…"

He grinned, "Those all make the hit-list, right? Smith, Miller, Wright… Strange, though. I never knew 'Enigmar' was that common, too. Well, you always learn something new!"

"Heh… Yeah…"

I refrained from sighing deeply. It seemed I was safe for now.

"In any case... I'll try to tell you what I know about the trial. Though, it might not be as much as you're hoping for," he seemed a bit more serious for just a moment. "I was only appointed it last moment, because Mr. Shadi's previous attorney bailed out during the final preparations, you know. His second switch in attorney, in fact. It was quite a hassle. I had barely any time to even read through the court record."

"Was that the reason you..."

I was talking a bit slowly, because I didn't want to strike any nerves and as a result, I didn't even get to finish the sentence. Instead, Mr. Shields just gave me a big shrug and finished it for me,

"The reason I lost? Maybe, but I'm not sure it really changed all that much. Mr. Enigmar might be great at magic and card games, but when it comes to anything else, he'd not exactly get an 'A-Rank', if you know what I mean."

By now, I had noticed that Mr. Shields had a tendency to add the quotation marks with his fingers. It just strengthened the weird atmosphere that surrounded him, but didn't change that he seemed like a great person to me.

"Right… He ran away from court before a verdict could be handed down, after all."

Mr. Shields clapped into his hands when I said this,

"Oho! Very good, very good! I see you did your homework, Nick! … I can call you 'Nick', right?"

"E-Eh…Sure…?"

Somehow, I couldn't say no to that guy. It must have been that strong aura of his. It confused me. And so, I could only helplessly watch as the number of people calling me 'Nick' went up by one.

"Great! Anyway, yes… He fled the courthouse, just when his verdict was supposed to be spoken. Had the nerve to use his poor daughter for it, too…" This was the first time I sensed something like 'hostility' in his voice. It made me listen up.

"He used his daughter for it?" I asked. "How?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but from what she said when I spoke to her afterwards, I think he somehow made her believe the whole 'disappearing act' was a show and got her to assist him in his escape. Poor thing. I didn't talk much to her, but she seemed like she didn't really understand anything outside of her world of illusions and showbiz yet. I doubt she was even aware of what was really going on… At least until it was too late."

"Poor Trucy…"

Did her father really use her like this? How could he? That poor, sheltered girl, who had full faith in her only parent… I had found a way in which she was just like Pearl, and that didn't exactly help my anger against Mr. Enigmar. In fact, it made it even worse. Apparently, I wasn't alone with that feeling.

"Pretty outrageous, huh? Believe me, if Uncle Ray here could tell old Shadi his opinion, it wouldn't be pretty." Despite jokingly calling himself 'Uncle' again, he sounded much more serious than before. "There are two things I hate above all else, and those are dirty tricks and betrayal. Especially 'parental' betrayal."

"Two inexcusable things…" _(That sounds familiar.)_

"A father is supposed to sacrifice everything for his child… Not the other way around," Mr. Shields told me his opinion. "I will never understand men like Mr. Enigmar, who use their children to their own advantage…"

"It's not just men who do this."

I was thinking out loud more than consciously saying this. Mr. Shields chuckled.

"That might be true, yeah, but… let's just say previous experiences influence a man.

While I was still wondering what kind of 'previous experiences' he might be talking about, he went on.

"It's good to know that the other side exists too. For every horrible parent in this world, there will always be one other who is amazing at their job, right? Anyway, what else would you like to know about the case?"

I took just a short moment to think, before I found my answer.

"The prosecutor," I said. "That's something I don't know anything about yet. Who prosecuted the Gramarye case?"

"_That_ is the thing you don't know?!" Mr. Shields seemed downright shocked to hear that. Or maybe he was just making fun of me, because his reaction seemed almost too exaggerated to be true. "My, my, Nick, and here I was thinking that this would be the first thing anybody would find out! It was in the headlines after all!"

"H-Headlines…?"

I hadn't been aware that this was such a high-profile case, but maybe I should have been, given the Defendant had been a celebrity. Still, what was this about the prosecutor?

"Yes, the headlines," Mr. Shields confirmed once again, before doing the quotation marks again, " '_Genius Gavinner's First In-Court Gig Crushed by Unannounced Guest-Show'_… ring any bells_?_"

"No… not exactly…" I had to admit. All I could think of was that was an odd way to phrase a headline about a murder trial. Then again, maybe it was just his way of phrasing it that should have 'rang a bell' for me, because somehow, in the back of my mind, I _did _feel like there was something familiar to it.

Mr. Shields went on.

"Hm… Well, maybe he's more popular with the female crowd, after all. The only reason I assumed the guy was something of a matter of 'trivial knowledge' already was because my young partner wouldn't stop going on and on about him, you know..."

"Young partner?"

"You have met her, haven't you? I am talking about the young fledgling that let you in, of course."

"Oh… you mean your secretary," I replied. "So, is she a fan of this prosecutor? Is he a celebrity of sorts?"

"A star, and if she is to be believed, a rising one too," Mr. Shields nodded at me. "His name is 'Klavier Gavin'."

"_Gavin_…" I was just about to say how the name sounded familiar to me, when suddenly my mind flashed back. Back to the day before yesterday. Back to loud, screeching sounds, headaches, yelling, screaming and the tinnitus related to it. "Wait… _HIM_?!"

"Ah, so you _have_ heard of him!" Mr. Shields grinned at me. I think my shock probably amused him. I still couldn't quite wrap my mind around the information.

"That guy prosecuted a murder case? But isn't he a bit young for…"

"Seventeen years old," the older man explained to me. "Upstarts like this have been getting more common in the prosecutors' office in recent years. He's one of two young 'prodigies' born in 2002 who graduated this year, in fact. I personally don't mind, though. Uncle Ray here got his own badge at eighteen. So I'd be a hypocrite if I complained, right? The future lies in the hands of the youth, they say!"

Seventeen… Eighteen… were these really the common ages for getting your badge nowadays? Suddenly, I felt so old. Still, that wasn't the point.

_(I knew he was a lawyer,)_ I thought to myself. _(But I didn't consider he could have been the guy who prosecuted that case. His 'Objection' the other day caused me to black out… could this be the reason why?)_

But what did this mean? I could only wonder to myself. I knew Zak Gramarye was the Defendant. Trucy was his daughter. And now it turned out this Gavin had been the prosecutor… All these people caused me trouble with my Psyche Locks when I first heard about or encountered them here. And I only started remembering details about the case after one of the locks had shattered. That meant the Psyche Locks and the case were connected. Except…

_(Wait… If everything about this case causes me to react…) _my eyes were on the man before me. _(How come he doesn't…?)_

I had taken a while to realize this, but now it was clear as day. Gavin had caused me to black out. Trucy had caused me to black out. Talking about her father, too, had made me feel faint. If the Defendant and Prosecutor of this case caused such extreme reactions in me, how come the Defense Attorney didn't? There was an explanation, though: It wasn't him. He wasn't the one who defended Zak Gramarye in the trial that my memories were blacking out from. There had been, what, two changes in Defense Attorneys throughout the whole thing? How come? Maybe Zak Gramarye… Mr. Shadi Enigmar had been searching for a specific kind of attorney but couldn't find someone like that? … But maybe, he _had_ found that kind of attorney. In the version of the trial that I was supposed to remember. In 'my world'.

"… Nick?" I distantly heard Mr. Shields say. "Everything alright, good boy? You look a bit pale."

I didn't respond. My thoughts were going too fast for me to pay attention to him.

… If all that was different in this place was different due to the lack of DL-6, and yet this one case stayed mostly unaltered despite this, it would mean that the Defense Attorney Mr. Enigmar had found in my world was someone whose ability to be present was 'impaired' here, because DL-6 didn't happen… someone who, for example, ended up not becoming a Defense Attorney at all…

… Who was I kidding? There was only one answer that made sense.

_(…It's __**me**__. That's why the few memories of that trial that I have are so clear and detailed. I was there. The lawyer who defended Shadi Enigmar… was me.)_

A sharp, piercing pain. A shattering sound that probably only I could hear. My balance was suddenly gone. I heard Mr. Shields shout something, when I, just at the last moment, managed to grab on to the table and keep myself from falling out of my chair.

"I am… okay…" I lied through my teeth, holding my head, desperately trying to hide my pain. "I am…"

_I am in the courtroom. The air is tense. Same old judge, same old crowd up in the gallery, waiting for the trial to start. I spot Maggey somewhere on the other side. I wonder if she will cheer for me or for the other side this time around. It doesn't matter too much, though. I am not nervous. Not that much. I can't be nervous. I'm not a young rookie anymore. I have a name to live up to. It's not just my own name._

_I'm not nervous. I can't be nervous. So I'm not._

_There's no one standing beside me. I'm on my own today. Alone? … I'm not nervous. I've done this many times before. I know exactly what to do. I know that I am good. I know that I can do it. I'm not nervous. I look across the courtroom. The young man over there is younger than Maya. A year younger than Ema even. He's just a kid, right? I'm not nervous. I don't have any reason to be. I can't be._

_There's a girl in the gallery behind the Defendant's chair. Her big, blue eyes shine with curiousness. I don't think she knows where she is. I don't think she understands what is happening. If Maya were here, she would say she's cute. But Maya isn't here. I'm on my own. Alone? … I'm not nervous._

_I remember something._

_ 'There is one cherry tree that always blooms way late, close by the village. Hey, how about we have a picnic there, after you're done? All of us together! C'mon Nick, it's gonna be fun! See it as a victory celebration. We both know there's no way you're gonna lose, right?"_

_I'm not nervous. My voice is absolutely calm when I speak to the judge. I have no reason to be nervous. I have done this many times before. I know exactly what to do. I am experienced. Not a rookie anymore. I have a name to live up to. I am not nervous. I can't be. I shouldn't be. I can stand on my own two feet._

_Mia, can you see me?_

"Mr. Enigmar? Is everything alright?"

I've not been out for long, as much as I can tell, but my spacing out had definitely been enough to get Mr. Shields worried. I sit up straight again.

"Yes, I am OK. Just a little… dizzy spell…"

I'm really a horrible liar. But even if he questioned it, what was he gonna do? Force me to go to the hospital? He knew even less about these sudden blackouts than I did, and that was probably for the best. More importantly… I had managed to take down yet another of these Psyche Locks.

_(So I defended in that trial… Meaning I lost,)_ I thought to myself_. (… That's it? Is that the reason why I've been blocking it all out? Just because I didn't win? Come on… I know better than to be a sore loser. No, that can't be all that happened…)_

And I was thinking this not just because I knew myself well enough to be sure that a loss wouldn't traumatize me that badly. It's never been about winning to me. I would feel regret because of my client… But I definitely wouldn't go into denial or anything among those lines. So I could only keep wondering what exactly had happened. I was closer than ever to finding out now, though. I could feel it.

I tried ordering my thoughts again. I could think about what I had found out just now later, I had to focus on the here and now. Especially because Mr. Shields was still giving me a rather skeptical look at my claim of being "okay". I had to get the conversation going again before he could interpret more into this.

"Thank you… Mr. Shields. This was really useful information," I told him with a nod. "Um… I was wondering… You wouldn't happen to know what the deal was with the two times Zak Gramarye ended up switching lawyers?"

"My, my, for someone not in direct relation to the case, you sure want to know a lot about it, Nick." The grin on his face had returned. "How come?"

"U-Um…"

Great. This was just the one question I had been avoiding. What should I say now?

"Well… I was just wondering if it might be possible to track the escaped Defendant down, is all," I finally lied. "After all, he cowardly left a child behind, just like you said. He should be brought to justice, right?"

"True, true," Mr. Shields agreed very eagerly. "Though, as Mr. Zak Gramarye's lawyer, I probably shouldn't agree with that sentiment, should I? I have to act in his interest after all."

I decidedly shook my head, "After doing this to his own daughter? Believing in his innocence in the case is one thing, but that's just where loyalty stops, even for me."

"_Even for you_… hm?"

I closed my lips tightly. Stupid! Was it really so hard to just watch what I was saying? Well, then again, I guessed that by now it didn't make much of a difference anyway. If my sudden dizzy spell just now hadn't made Mr. Shields suspicious of me, then my strangely specific knowledge of the case had for sure. But in the end, it wasn't like that could do anything, right? He had no way of connecting that to who I really was. The only question remaining in my mind was why he hadn't thrown me out by now, but maybe that just wasn't his style, so to speak.

"Anyway, I'm sorry, Nick, but I really can't help you there," Mr. Shields went on as I was still thinking of what to say next. "By now I've told you pretty much everything I know about the case myself. It's not much, but it can't be changed. I am sorry if your trip here was for nothing."

"No, no, it's fine, really." I quickly responded. "What I learned here was really very useful. Thank you a lot. And… also…"

But then I hesitated. The next questions were much more risky than what we had been talking about so far. Given how I had been acting till now, how suspicious would it be if I asked these things now…?

"… Hm? 'And also' what, Nick?" I heard Mr. Shields repeat after me. He put his hand on his Fedora hat and adjusted it a bit. "If there's anything else you wanted to ask of ol' Uncle Ray, just go for it."

'Just go for it' was easier said than done, given that I had no idea what kind of reaction my next questions could cause. I had a bad feeling about it, but on the other hand, this might just be my only chance to find out about these two things. I had to go on.

_(So… Here goes nothing.)_

I took a breath and went on.

"Mr. Shields…You were involved in a case filed as "BD-7" a few years back, correct?"

Raymond Shields' eyebrows pulled down the moment the case's name fell and the corners of his mouth dropped. All smiles wiped off his face like that, he spoke in with a far more serious tone..

"I sure do," he said. "The victim was my mentor… and friend."

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard."

Nobody knew this better than me, after all.

"It's been years. It may sound cold, but… after a while, one just becomes comfortable with the thought of never seeing someone again, no matter how impossible it seems in the beginning," he replied and, for once, his mood didn't suddenly shift back to "cheery" again. "Still, this case has been over for years. How come you ask about it now, Nick?"

"Well, there have been a couple of attempted thefts in connection to it lately," I tried to explain.

"Attempted thefts, huh?"

"Yeah… Please don't think we're making any assumptions now…" The truth was that we definitely had been making assumptions, but he didn't need to know that. "… but they found this at one of the scenes."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the business card the girl with the ponytail had thrown at me, in order to present it to him. My dialogue partner's eyes widened a bit.

"… This is…!"

There was some actual, genuine surprise on Mr. Shields face when I showed it to him. That was enough to tell me I was on the right track.

"It's yours, right? We wondered if you knew anything about it," I explained, sharpening my look a bit. "Do you have any idea who might be behind these thefts and why they have your card?"

"Hm…"

It was now Mr. Shields's turn to seem hesitant to speak, but, much to my surprise, no Psyche Locks appeared. Did that mean he wasn't planning on hiding anything from me? For the first time since I had mentioned BD-7, the older lawyer's smile reappeared on his face now. He seemed as calm as ever, though strangely amused for a reason I couldn't pinpoint.

"So, she dropped my card, hm? The thief, I mean."

"Yes, that she did," I nodded, just before I finished fully processing what he had just said. "-Wait! How did you know it was a 'she'?"

Mr. Shields chuckled and gave a short shrug.

"Well…"

This was as far as he got. Because that very second, a loud sound pierced my ears.

_"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"_

The door. It came from the door. In a sudden reflex, I turned, almost throwing over the chair I had been sitting in. And then, I became of aware what it was I had heard…

"**M**…**Maya**!"

There was nothing to think about that moment – especially not about something as puny as having ruined Maya's disguise – and I found myself leaping to the door, grasping for the handle and throwing it open, not paying any attention to Mr. Shields or his reaction. This was the second time today that Maya's scream had caught my attention… I could only pray the reason was just as pathetic this time around as it had been last time. But if it wasn't…!

The waiting room opened up again before me and I stormed in. The sight I was faced with wasn't alarming at first glance: Maya sitting in the chair, just where I had left her- Except, upon second glance, there was something very alarming to it after all: The fact that her hands were bound together behind her back to the chair.

"_Niiiick_!" she called out when she saw me.

I ran up to her, "Maya! What happened here?"

"J-Just untie me!" she pleaded. "This isn't comfortable at all!"

"Alright."

I decided that I could still ask Maya questions about just who had done this to her after I had gotten her hands free. However, before I could step behind the chair, there was a voice,

"No step further, Evildoer!"

I don't know why, but somehow, this actually did cause me to stop in my tracks. Probably just because of the suddenness of the proclamation, though.

"Um, what?"

'Evildoer'? What was that supposed to mean? I looked around me. It was impossible for me to pin down the source of the voice, until it suddenly rang out again. This time in a loud, penetrating laughter.

"_Aha! Aha! HA, HA, HAR!_"

And then I knew where the voice had come from, though my mind was telling me: _'No. That can't be.' _My mind was proven wrong, though, when, just like my ears had suggested, something above my head moved and caught my attention. Before I could turn my head and look at the object, it had already leaped down from the ceiling and landed right in front of me. It turned out the "object" was, in fact, a "subject": A girl, younger than Maya. And this time around, I immediately recognized her.

"Y-You…!"

"It's the Secretary Girl, Nick!" Maya shouted out, "She was the Underbed-Ninja all along!"

"_Great Thief_!" the ninja… secretary… _wavy-hair_ corrected Maya. "I've got a Yatagarasu badge, see?! And the bed thing… That was just once…"

Wavy-hair pouted at the last two sentences. Apparently she didn't have too fond memories of hiding under that bed either. Meanwhile, my mind was still boggled. I just couldn't believe it. Mr. Shields' Secretary… She was the pink thief? That kind, polite, soft-spoken girl?

_… Were there no normal women in this world?!_

Now that I thought about it, it was obvious; the same face, the same eyes, the same hair color and stature. I should have recognized her right away, but I didn't. Maybe Maya somehow did, though. Was that the reason she had wanted to observe her? In the end, it didn't matter. What mattered right now was the fact that between me and the tied up Maya was a 5'4" teenager. I tried to change that by running a circle around her, but she stepped in my way.

"Nope! No chance!" She said, stretching out her arms as if to erect an invisible wall. "You will not get away so easily now, fiend!"

"Get away?" I stared at her in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

She rubbed her finger under her nose, proudly.

"That you can't just run! I, the Great Thief Yatagarasu, have stolen your precious thing!"

"Precious thing?" I asked.

"I'm not a 'thing'!" Maya complained, making me realize what Wavy-Hair was talking about.

So that girl really _was_ that Yatagarasu Imitator who was going around. Though, someone still had to explain the difference between 'theft' and 'holding hostages' (poorly, but still), to her. This all left me wondering what the whole point of all this was, though.

"C'mon Nick! This is really starting to hurt, y'know!" I heard Maya call for me again, and I nodded.

"Just a moment!"

But I didn't get further than a few steps. The self-proclaimed thief got in my way again.

"You're not going anywhere!" she yelled in my face, striking a pose. "Not before you reveal all of it!"

"Reveal? What?"

This was getting ridiculous. As Maya was slowly starting to grow very impatient, I could just keep hopping in circles, just to have Wavy-Hair step in my way every time I tried to approach Maya. Of course, I could have just pushed her out of the way, but that didn't seem like a nice thing to do… Then again, she _did_ tie Maya to a chair. Maybe I should consider it.

"Reveal everything!" she repeated in reply to my question. "The whole truth! All of your evil, shady business and so on!"

"…Shady business…?"

And then, suddenly, something clicked in my mind. This girl was after Phoenix Wright… The other one, the Prosecutor, who was supposed to be here. Of course… That's why she had broken into the office and the apartment, after all. It had all been in search of information about his "secret". And now, she was holding Maya hostage in the hope of getting this information… Except she didn't know she had the wrong 'Phoenix Wright'. What to do…?

"Don't play dumb!" The girl stood right in front of Maya now, pouting like my asking response had personally offended her. "You know exactly what I mean! You are with _them_!"

"What are you talking about…?"

Something was starting to move in my head. No matter how confused I was about this whole situation, one thing was becoming progressively clear: This girl… She knew something. Something I didn't know. Something I probably should know. And that was she was trying to ask me about. The reason she broke into 'my' office and home… and had manipulated the car.

…Wait, that didn't make sense. If she wanted to talk to me, why would she be trying to kill me? In fact, if it was really me she was after, she wouldn't be doing this right now. She was only holding Maya hostage, but the door to the offices was still very much unlocked, so it wasn't like I couldn't just leave if my life was really in danger. Plus, if she had really wanted to get rid of me, she could have just insisted I have a coffee earlier and poisoned me. Either way, something didn't fit.

"What am I talking about? Shouldn't that be obvious, Mr. Super-Prosecutor? For such a high-ranking villain, you are pretty slow!" The girl insulted me, as her expression turned harder. She glared at me with full seriousness.

"I have evidence, you know! You may hide it from the law, but you can't hide from the eye of truth! You are connected to it… '_The Network'_."

"A…network?" I asked, confused. "A network of what…?"

It wasn't the girl who responded to this question for me, but a voice from right behind me. Raymond Shields spoke in a serious tone.

"Most think it's only an invention of conspiracy theorists… Others are convinced that it has already assumed full control over everything and everyone with any significant level of authority in jurisprudence whatsoever. Either way, with their existence not even proven yet, "The Network", should it actually exist, is the most successful criminal institution of our time and age."

"A… criminal institution?"

"They exist!" I heard the girl with the wavy hair yell from Maya's side. "They control it all, in this state… The police, the lawyers, the judges, politicians, the big companies… even the Mafia and Crime Rings!"

I turned my head to face the girl again, looking at her in confusion.

_(They control… everything?)_ I wondered to myself. _(Why does this sound familiar… And what has this to do with anything?)_

"It started out as just a single corporation, led by a selfish man… But since nobody caught them, they ended up allying with a whole line of similar-minded groups! Assassins, information-gatherers, smugglers, media-manipulators, corrupt lawyers… They all banded together and created an Organization that would be absolutely invisible to the law. That is 'The Network'! It's true, we have proof for it!"

"Wait… 'We'?"

Before I could expand on that short question, it was being answered… from behind me. As I turned to the voice, Raymond, now standing right in front of the door that led outside, was speaking.

"Kay here and I… We have been investigating into this for a while, you see. We found a lot of things… None of which are actually useful in court, sadly. That's how law works. You need legally acquired, tangible evidence. We didn't have any of this… until now."

My eyes were wide. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? That he… and that girl… they were allies?

"Until… now…"

"You are all the evidence we need. Because… if we get just one of the involved to talk… We can crash the entire system in one blow! Like this! BAM!"

The girl stomped on the floor like she was Godzilla and trying to flatten a building under her foot. She seemed incredibly enthusiastic when she did that and giggled cheekily.

My heart turned heavy and I sweated when I became fully aware of the situation. Only now, I realized how surprisingly firmly Shields was standing in front of the door. It didn't take a genius to see what he was doing this for – He was blocking my path. Sure enough, I would be able to push him out of the way if I needed to, what with his prosthetics. But even if I could flee, Maya couldn't. And if Mr. Shields wasn't with me, that meant nobody could help her, except for me. There was no one except for the four of us in this building. It was then that I realized that this must have been what they had planned all along. The whole purpose of dropping that card in front of our feet… It was probably to lead me here. And my bringing Maya along, I dragged her right into it… right into their trap. I swallowed heavily…

_( No…!)_

"So, Mr. Phoenix Wright. What will it be?" the girl adjusted her scarf a bit. "Your friend is waiting. If you let us record you testifying, I'll undo her binds right away! But… if you don't, I can't do that. In fact, if you decide to not testify at all… I guess we'd have to just leave her like this…"

The girl crossed her arms, seeming a bit impatient. However, the person with the least patience left in the room had an actual reason to be as tense as she was.

"N-Nick!" Maya leaned forwards on the chair, staring at me pleadingly. "_Please_…!"

I stared at Maya before me, sweat dripping off my forehead and then my eyes jumped between the wavy haired girl and between Mr. Shields in the back of the room. What was I supposed to do? Even if I wanted to comply with their demands, I couldn't. I didn't know anything about this 'Network' I was supposedly part of. There was nothing I could tell them. There was only one thing I could try to do. Just a second more of fearful eyes were enough to get my body moving before the brain had even finished thinking the thoughts. Not saying a word more, I dashed forwards, aiming to push Wavy Hair aside and get to Maya.

… She jumped, got a leg in my way and struck my shin with it, ensuring that I would trip. My glorious rescue action came to an abrupt end here. I found myself on the floor, my nose hurting, as it had hit with whole force. My head, too, was spinning. But I wasn't out yet. As quickly as possible, I tried to get back onto my feet. But… the moment that I raised my head a bit, I saw something.

A gloved hand was stretched out in my direction in an offering manner. From above me, I saw the wavy-haired thief, her hair falling left and right from her shoulders, bent over me, smiling.

"Congratulations!" she grinned. "You passed."

My expression probably couldn't have been anymore dumbstruck.

_(I… passed…)_

Apparently.

Before I could take the girl up on her offer – I mostly didn't because my mind lacked the capacity to do so right now – the girl had already grabbed my hand and pulled me up. Her head turned to the side as she lifted my weight,

"Hey, Maya, you can get your arms back in front now!"

"Finally! Wheeew…"

I didn't understand a thing right now. 'Baffled' would have been a gross underestimation of my current mental state. Maya, who had looked at me like she was fearing for her life just a moment ago, suddenly, without any effort worth mentioning, let the rope around her wrists fall off and brought her hands in front of her body. Perfectly healthy and happy, she sat up straight, looking at me.

"Nick, you look a little pale," she informed me, smiling. "Except for your nose, cause it's all red... You fell pretty hard, hm? Clumsy you."

I just looked at Maya. I'm not sure if my face had any emotion on it. If it did, said emotion probably didn't impress her much. Her grin was just as bright as that of the girl who had now finished pulling me up. I was standing on my feet.

Silence.

"Hehe… We got him good, didn't we?" It was the wavy-haired thief's voice that mused this in joy. And then, Maya joined in.

"Yep! See, just like I told you. I knew Nick wouldn't run away."

"Ah, I see." Raymond Shields joined in with the two of them and grinned along. "So, that's what your plan was. I was wondering if it was that."

Left behind in the midst of the three grinning conspirators was I. Confused.

"What…"

I shook my head.

_"Could anybody explain to me what's going on here!"_

"W-Waah!"

Taken aback by my sudden yell, Maya ended up stepping back, tripping over the chair she had been sitting on and falling backwards.

Of course, I immediately rushed to help her, but you couldn't say it didn't serve her right, could you?

* * *

_Let me tell you a little secret, guys: This chapter has actually been finished… for three months. And even before that, the gist of it was already written out for about half a year._

_So, why did it take me so long to finish it, then? Why, you might wonder, am I uploading this only now, a week after the Dual Destinies release?_

_Well, to be blunt; I don't like this chapter. I really don't. _

_I was dissatisfied with it all along. Tried to improve it, read it over and over and over, changed stuff around, made it longer… In the end, I still don't like it. But now, Dual Destinies is out in English. I have played the Japanese version, already altered parts of the upcoming plot to include Clay Terran in this fic (Oh, yeah, that was another reason I kept the hiatus up; I decided that future chapters are gonna feature minor Dual Destinies Spoilers when I finished the game last summer. I waited so I could keep in-tune with the English localization.) I decided it was time to end this pathetic hiatus and finally get this thing going again. Especially seeing how my situation has changed._

_You see, I live in Japan now. Exchange Scholarship until next summer. And if there is one thing I have already learned here, it's that procrastination is a vice that is avertable. Which is why I am starting to try averting it now. I need to finish this fic. I need to do it, not just for all of you who are still reading it, but for myself._

_This fic is part of what got me where I am right now. Part of what made me more confident in myself and my own skills. I owe it to this fic to complete it. I owe that to myself. I can never give up on it, even if I turn into a giant slowpoke. _

_That's why you never have to fear this fic getting dropped entirely. Unless I die. But let's hope that won't happen._

_OK, now that we got this out of the way, a few things on the current Ace Attorney Situation on my end:_

_I love Dual Destinies, I don't think it's the best game in the series, I think the localization once more brilliantly captures the spirit of the original, Athena Cykes is my new favorite character, I ship Apollo and Athena with a passion, and making it an ensemble game was a brilliant idea. _

_That would be all._


End file.
